Journalists across the country are comparing Bush's Hurricane Katrina response to Obama's handling of his Louisiana problem - the British Petroleum oil spill:
But, is the comparison fair? Well, obviously, in terms of loss of life, there isn't a correlation as 11 men lost their lives in the explosion compared with 1800 individuals in the hurricane, but aside from the number of casualties, there are striking similarities between the two events.
During Katrina, the White House pointed out that the federal response was governed by the Stafford Act, which says that in natural disasters states are in charge, not the feds. The federal obligation is only to support the states in their efforts. Similarly, Obama's team pointed to a 1990 law that requires oil companies to clean up their spills, and that they are only offering oversight in response to this mandate.
State officials in Louisiana during Katrina, said Bush's response was too slow, bogged down in red tape, and their people lacked the equipment and necessities they expected FEMA to provide immediately. Again, Louisiana residents are crying out that they have begged, but have not been given necessary equipment, even as oil has invaded marshes and beaches. In fact, Governor Bobby Jindal said they haven't even received the oil-stopping boom they requested three weeks ago from the Coast Guard. Apparently, requests for more boom or other oil-fighting equipment are routed to a British Petroleum subcontractor for approval, then sent through two command centers, which delays the Coast Guard. So, not only does the Coast Guard have its own bureaucracy, but BP has set up a few stumbling blocks of its own. Brilliant.
In the wake of Katrina, people complained that Bush failed to issue an emergency plan to rescue, evacuate and house displaced residents. And now, Jindal and Louisiana are at a loss to understand how, when they came up with their own plan, Washington couldn't even manage to register its vote on their proposal to build a 94-mile-long string of sand berms across Louisiana's coast to keep the oil at bay. Louisiana requested an emergency permit for the plan from the Army Corps of Engineers that would bypass environmental impact reviews and the matter is still under review. As a result of the lack of decision-making, the oil has filled the marshlands.
After Katrina hit, Bush was lambasted for waiting four days to head to New Orleans. It took Obama 12 days to show up in the gulf.
So, doesn't it sound like the same finger-pointy, decisionless, inept response to you? Apparently, Obama now understands the red tape and headaches inherent in dealing with an emergent crisis.
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