Published:
Here's one of many examples: The Chicago Tribune
reports that the U.S.S. Bataan, equipped with six operating rooms, hundreds of
hospital beds and the ability to produce 100,000 gallons of fresh water a day,
has been sitting off the Gulf Coast since last Monday - without patients.
Experts say that the first 72 hours after a natural disaster are the crucial
window during which prompt action can save many lives. Yet action after Katrina
was anything but prompt. Newsweek reports that a "strange paralysis"
set in among Bush administration officials, who debated lines of authority
while thousands died.
What caused that paralysis? President Bush certainly failed his test. After
9/11, all the country really needed from him was a speech. This time it needed
action - and he didn't deliver.
But the federal government's lethal ineptitude wasn't just a consequence of
Mr. Bush's personal inadequacy; it was a consequence of ideological hostility
to the very idea of using government to serve the public good. For 25 years the
right has been denigrating the public sector, telling us that government is
always the problem, not the solution. Why should we be surprised that when we
needed a government solution, it wasn't forthcoming?
Does anyone remember the fight over federalizing airport security? Even
after 9/11, the administration and conservative members of Congress tried to
keep airport security in the hands of private companies. They were more worried
about adding federal employees than about closing a deadly hole in national
security.
Of course, the attempt to keep airport security private wasn't just about philosophy;
it was also an attempt to protect private interests. But that's not really a
contradiction. Ideological cynicism about government easily morphs into a
readiness to treat government spending as a way to reward your friends. After
all, if you don't believe government can do any good, why not?
Which brings us to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In my last
column, I asked whether the Bush administration had destroyed FEMA's effectiveness. Now we know the answer.
Several recent news analyses on FEMA's sorry state
have attributed the agency's decline to its inclusion in the Department of
Homeland Security, whose prime concern is terrorism, not natural disasters. But
that supposed change in focus misses a crucial part of the story.
For one thing, the undermining of FEMA began as soon as President Bush took
office. Instead of choosing a professional with expertise in responses to
disaster to head the agency, Mr. Bush appointed Joseph
You might have expected the administration to reconsider its hostility to
emergency preparedness after 9/11 - after all, emergency management is as
important in the aftermath of a terrorist attack as it is following a natural
disaster. As many people have noticed, the failed response to Katrina shows
that we are less ready to cope with a terrorist attack today than we were four
years ago.
But the downgrading of FEMA continued, with the appointment of
Mr. Brown had no obvious qualifications, other than having been Mr.
That contempt, as I've said, reflects a general hostility to the role of
government as a force for good. And Americans living along the
The administration has always tried to treat 9/11 purely as a lesson about
good versus evil. But disasters must be coped with, even if they aren't caused
by evildoers. Now we have another deadly lesson in why we need an effective
government, and why dedicated public servants deserve our respect. Will we
listen?