New Year's Resolution: Remember New Orleans

Never forget President Bush's many failures. Never forget that his biggest domestic failure was New Orleans and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Even the Republican Congress couldn't be bothered to address the loss of a major American city and the damage along the gulf coast that is still under repair more than a year later with many areas still neglected. Bush thinks he has a free pass to do nothing for his final two years in office. Americans deserve better. Republicans should join Democrats in demanding action and accountability from President Bush.

Barbara O'Brien, guest blogging at DMIBlog remembers:

In 2005 the winds and waters of Hurricane Katrina flushed the entrenched poverty of New Orleans into the open for all the world to see. And soon after there was much chest-thumping and many heartfelt declarations that we must do something about this.

The "something" turns out to be "bury the problem somewhere else." New York Times columnist Bob Herbert wrote this week,

Sixteen months have passed since the apocalyptic flood that followed Hurricane Katrina. More than 13,000 residents who were displaced by the storm are still living in trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Another 100,000 to 200,000 evacuees - most of whom want to return home - are scattered throughout the United States.

In 2008, Republicans like John McCain will be running for president. What did McCain do for New Orleans? What will the other candidates do? Will the Republicans kept neglecting their responsibilities when they're in charge? Why have Republicans said so little about Bush's failures in New Orleans? We need reform in this country and it's sure not going to start with ultraconservative Republicans.

The 'McCain Doctrine'

I stopped trusting George W. Bush a long time ago. Although Bush could surprise us, all the noise being directed from the White House about a troop 'surge' is probably on the level and Bush will blunder once more in Iraq with the risk of expanding the war. Nobody has been louder about increasing the number of troops at this late date than John McCain. So, thanks to John Edwards, McCain is now saddled with his own words; Greg Sargeant of TPM Cafe has the story:

John Edwards has coined a new phrase that is likely to resonate throughout the Presidential campaign: "The McCain Doctrine." The phrase seeks to wrap the prospect of an escalation of the Iraq war as tightly as possible around the neck of John McCain, the most vocal proponent of a "surge" in troops. According to the Arizona Republic, Edwards hatched the "McCain doctrine" formulation in an exchange with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.

I also saw an article by Joe Lieberman calling for a troop surge. Do either McCain or Lieberman believe, at this late date, that George W. Bush knows what he's doing? Should George W. Bush blatantly ignore the Iraq Study Group? A clue is that a growing number of Republicans in Washington are distancing themselves from President Bush's Iraq policy.