naomikritzer | More hurricane-related ranting

Apparently New Orleans did have a disaster plan. It just wasn't implemented, mostly because of changes the Bush administration has made to FEMA.

Also, you know that astonishing comment Bush made earlier today? Here, I'll quote it, just in case anyone's somehow missed it:

The good news is -- and it's hard for some to see it now -- that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch. (Laughter.)

Ed commented earlier that there may have been speakers who could have pulled a comment like that off. That started me thinking about what Clinton, were he president right now, might have said. Here's what I came up with:

We're going to rebuild the Gulf Coast, and it's going to be even better than it was before. I spoke to a woman today named Lorraine Jackson. She has four children, and they evacuated to the Superdome, and now their entire neighborhood is underwater and they have lost everything they owned. And I told Ms. Jackson that America is with her. We're going to rebuild her home, and all the other homes that were destroyed. We're going to stand with you, Ms. Jackson. We're all in this together. And I look forward to visiting New Orleans a year or two from now and seeing you in your new home.

Clinton, for all his faults, got it in a way that Bush never will.