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M O N D A Y , S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 0 5NY Times Gets It Wrong: Bush Waited TillWednesday Before Ending Vacationby Michael in New York on
9/12/2005 02:42:00 AMThe New York Times has a good, lengthy Katrina rounduprecounting some of the devastating details of the hurricane andthe even more devastating details of the inept and incompetentresponse -- especially from the White House. One terrible detailabout the convention center:Before the last people were evacuated that Saturday,several bodies were dumped near a door, and two or threebabies died of dehydration, emergency medics havesaid.There's also a good timeline detailing who did what and when. Butthe New York Times makes one big mistake on Bush's timeline. Itsays that on Tuesday August 30 Bush "cuts his vacation short."That is wrong, wrong, wrong. On Tuesday, Bush ANNOUNCED hewould cut his vacation short. On Tuesday, Bush was in California at apolitical rally and -- instead of heading straight to DC so he couldFINALLY start to focus on this crisis first thing Wednesday -- Bushwent BACK to Crawford, Texas for another night's vacation. Hearrived back in DC on Wednesday, August 31.This is not splitting hairs. If Bush announced he would shorten hisrecord-setting five week vacation by one day, would you state he "cuthis vacation short" on the day that announcement was made (even ifit was day two of the 35+ days of vacation) or on the day he actuallyended it? Naturally, it would be on the day he actually ended it. Bushdoes not deserve to have it recorded he ended his absurdly longvacation on Tuesday when he actually delayed going back to work tillWednesday.The first few hours and days of a crisis are crucial and during thosefirst three days after the hurricane struck, when the entire countrywas glued to its TVs and watching in horror as the Gulf region andespecially New Orleans sank into despair, Bush stayed on vacation.The timeline -- which lists the activities of The Gov. of Louisiana, themayor of New Orleans, Bush, Chertoff and Brown -- does NOT includeRepublican Governor Haley Barbour, Secretary of State Condi Rice ormost importantly Vice President Dick Cheney. The NYT presumablydidn't list Cheney because it would be so damning and "political" tostate the fact that during this crisis the Vice President STAYED ONVACATION for six days.I remain astonished at how the MSM ignores the elephant in theroom. Never in our nation's history has a natural or man-madedisaster struck the country -- not Pearl Harbor or 9-11 or the SanFrancisco earthquake (in which gov't responders arrived in two days)-- quite simply NEVER has a nationwide crisis occurred with so manyof our top leaders staying or going on vacation.Here's the letter I would write to the New York Times:Your hurricane Katrina timeline contains a crucial mistake.President Bush ended his record-setting five week vacationon Wednesday, August 31, not a day earlier. (He merelyannounced it on Tuesday.) After a jaunt to California onTuesday, Bush returned to Crawford, Texas for one morenight's rest while flood waters were rising and potentiallythousands were dying.This is not splitting hairs. In an emergency, the first hoursand days are crucial. And during the worst natural disasterin our nation's history, President Bush stayed on vacation.He stayed on vacation for two days after the hurricanestruck. The vice president stayed on vacation for five daysafter the hurricane struck, not being seen in Washington DCuntil he appeared at a photo op on Saturday, September 3.While dozens of countries were calling us with offers of aid
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9/12/2005 02:42:00 AMThe New York Times has a good, lengthy Katrina rounduprecounting some of the devastating details of the hurricane andthe even more devastating details of the inept and incompetentresponse -- especially from the White House. One terrible detailabout the convention center:Before the last people were evacuated that Saturday,several bodies were dumped near a door, and two or threebabies died of dehydration, emergency medics havesaid.There's also a good timeline detailing who did what and when. Butthe New York Times makes one big mistake on Bush's timeline. Itsays that on Tuesday August 30 Bush "cuts his vacation short."That is wrong, wrong, wrong. On Tuesday, Bush ANNOUNCED hewould cut his vacation short. On Tuesday, Bush was in California at apolitical rally and -- instead of heading straight to DC so he couldFINALLY start to focus on this crisis first thing Wednesday -- Bushwent BACK to Crawford, Texas for another night's vacation. Hearrived back in DC on Wednesday, August 31.This is not splitting hairs. If Bush announced he would shorten hisrecord-setting five week vacation by one day, would you state he "cuthis vacation short" on the day that announcement was made (even ifit was day two of the 35+ days of vacation) or on the day he actuallyended it? Naturally, it would be on the day he actually ended it. Bushdoes not deserve to have it recorded he ended his absurdly longvacation on Tuesday when he actually delayed going back to work tillWednesday.The first few hours and days of a crisis are crucial and during thosefirst three days after the hurricane struck, when the entire countrywas glued to its TVs and watching in horror as the Gulf region andespecially New Orleans sank into despair, Bush stayed on vacation.The timeline -- which lists the activities of The Gov. of Louisiana, themayor of New Orleans, Bush, Chertoff and Brown -- does NOT includeRepublican Governor Haley Barbour, Secretary of State Condi Rice ormost importantly Vice President Dick Cheney. The NYT presumablydidn't list Cheney because it would be so damning and "political" tostate the fact that during this crisis the Vice President STAYED ONVACATION for six days.I remain astonished at how the MSM ignores the elephant in theroom. Never in our nation's history has a natural or man-madedisaster struck the country -- not Pearl Harbor or 9-11 or the SanFrancisco earthquake (in which gov't responders arrived in two days)-- quite simply NEVER has a nationwide crisis occurred with so manyof our top leaders staying or going on vacation.Here's the letter I would write to the New York Times:Your hurricane Katrina timeline contains a crucial mistake.President Bush ended his record-setting five week vacationon Wednesday, August 31, not a day earlier. (He merelyannounced it on Tuesday.) After a jaunt to California onTuesday, Bush returned to Crawford, Texas for one morenight's rest while flood waters were rising and potentiallythousands were dying.This is not splitting hairs. In an emergency, the first hoursand days are crucial. And during the worst natural disasterin our nation's history, President Bush stayed on vacation.He stayed on vacation for two days after the hurricanestruck. The vice president stayed on vacation for five daysafter the hurricane struck, not being seen in Washington DCuntil he appeared at a photo op on Saturday, September 3.While dozens of countries were calling us with offers of aid
Daily KosOpen Thread and Diary Rescue - *Tonight's crew ofRescue Rangers were vcmvo2, grog, dopper0189,shayera, and joyful. In the meantime, dadanationlooked editorial. Oh yeah, a big shout ...14 minutes ago
HuffPost PoliticsMark Joseph: Nice Try Mr. President; Hold The Beer& Get The Tape - So, President Obama wants theProf and the Cop to come to the White House, havea beer and make nice? Not so fast. One...23 minutes agoThink ProgressReport: Cheney wanted to illegally deployAmerican troops in U.S. cities. - The New YorkTimes reports that in 2002, Vice President Cheneyand his administration allies urged President Bushto deploy American troops into the suburb...34 minutes ago
Crooks and LiarsOpen Thread - Andy K here blogging about AndyKaufman (no relation), who's on the same stagewith Wolfman Jack? Whelp, there goes that theory.h/t to Ben Folds (yes, ...1 hour ago
EschatonLate Night Thread - Enjoy1 hour agoJ O H N ' S P H OT O S
Show All
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Mormons may havesecretly baptizedNext 6AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: NY Ti...http://www.americablog.com/2005/09/ny-times-gets-it-wrong-b...
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Ezra KleinTab Dump5 hours agoWonk RoomF-22 Killed BySeven-Meme Voltron5 hours agoNYCeveHuge victories: Maloney& Pingree - Health CareHeroes, Clyburnreceives petition - video5 hours agoDaily DoseWill Doctors in theHouse, SenateInfluence Debate?7 hours agoThe TreatmentDoes the GOP ReallyHave an AlternativePlan in the Works?7 hours agoG AY P O L I T I C S
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A B O U TA M E R I C A B L O GWhy AMERICAblog?Because a great nationdeserves the truth.What issues do youcover?US politics overall with aparticular focus on theObama Administration, theradical right, and civilrights.Who are you?John AravosisEditorWashington, DCJoe SudbayDeputy EditorWashington, DCChris RyanAssociate EditorParis, FranceRobert ArenaContributing EditorBaltimore, MarylandJacki SchechnerContributing EditorWashington, DCAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: NY Ti...http://www.americablog.com/2005/09/ny-times-gets-it-wrong-b...
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© 2009 - John Aravosis | Design maintenance by Jason RosenbaumSend me your tips: americablog@starpower.netAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: NY Ti...http://www.americablog.com/2005/09/ny-times-gets-it-wrong-b...
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