Death of an American City?

The government (federal and local- but mostly federal) may be too busy to care about New Orleans, but luckily a few in the media are still watching the story... and shaking their head. Yes, luckily, there are a few who remember that just three months ago an American city was submerged in water and all but destroyed. A few remember that an event that topped 9/11 in terms of destruction occurred down South and the government moved on because it could not gain (only lose) from it politically. A few remember that there are people still living there, still waiting for help. And a few remember that that on the evening of September 15th, President Bush turned on some temporary lights in Jackson Square and promised us "one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen", spelling out in great detail an immediate plan for recovery that in all likelihood only existed in the script of that speech.

Certainly no one expects the city to be rebuilt overnight, nor do they absolve the state and local authorities of their responsibilities, but it is unacceptable that the White House shows no signs of still caring, let alone delivering on just one of the promises made that evening.

The NY Times has an editorial on this today:
Death of an American City

We are about to lose New Orleans. Whether it is a conscious plan to let the city rot until no one is willing to move back or honest paralysis over difficult questions, the moment is upon us when a major American city will die, leaving nothing but a few shells for tourists to visit like a museum.

We said this wouldn't happen. President Bush said it wouldn't happen. He stood in Jackson Square and said, "There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans." But it has been over three months since Hurricane Katrina struck and the city is in complete shambles...

...At this moment the reconstruction is a rudderless ship. There is no effective leadership that we can identify. How many people could even name the president's liaison for the reconstruction effort, Donald Powell? Lawmakers need to understand that for New Orleans the words "pending in Congress" are a death warrant requiring no signature...

...If the rest of the nation has decided it is too expensive to give the people of New Orleans a chance at renewal, we have to tell them so. We must tell them we spent our rainy-day fund on a costly stalemate in Iraq, that we gave it away in tax cuts for wealthy families and shareholders. We must tell them America is too broke and too weak to rebuild one of its great cities.

To make the point clearer, here is what Washington Post reporter Mike Allen said today on Meet The Press:
"I’m going to tell you something to amaze you; it amazed me yesterday. The last time the President was in the hurricane region was October 11, two months ago. The president stood in New Orleans and said it was going to be one of the largest reconstruction efforts in the history of the world. You go to the White House home page, there’s Barney cam, there’s Social Security, there’s Renewing Iraq. Where’s renewing New Orleans? A presidential advisor told me that issue has fallen so far off the radar screen, you can’t find it."

Hey, I can see why Barney Cam might be more important than New Orleans. He's what Bush likes best- a loyal friend who never criticizes him.

This cannot continue to just be a subject discussed in ocassional editorials, or as a side topic on cable news stations, or as the desperate pleas of people like Harry Shearer. Next to the situation in Iraq, this is the top issue facing the Bush administration, and also one of their top failures. The man reelected to save us from bad men and destruction needed a homemade DVD to understand what happened to the Gulf Coast. A promise to rebuild turned out to be another White House photo-op. And the Republican Congress, wondering when the next shoe/indictment is gonna drop, are too wrapped up in their own self-created messes to care either. Our only hope is that the Democrats will take up the cause.

Next to the war, this must be the top issue in the 2006 elections. Ohh sure, Iraq is important, but is it more important than an American city? We may yet win the war in Iraq (well really, there are no winners in that mess, the best we can hope for is that there's no losers either), but we are losing a war right here at home. If we can waste $300-400 billion to destroy and then rebuild Iraq, then surely we can rebuild the city of New Orleans.

The Democrats must make rebuilding the highest priority. And they must remind people that the promises the Republicans made in order to gain power (protecting the public, compassionate conservatism, etc) washed away in the waters of Lake Pontchartrain when they had their first real test. To quote Jon Stewart on his first post-Katrina show, "This is inarguably, inarguably, a failure of leadership from the top of the federal government". The Democrats must simultaneously remind people of this fact and also work to correct it and rebuild. Then, in November of next year, the American people will have an opportunity to correct the mistake they made last year and put real leadership back in control of our government.

It won't fix everything, but it'll be a start.

Related link- Katrina's Official Death Toll Incomplete

[Flashback-
President Bush Makes With The Talky Talk.]