A Double-Edged Sword

Cal Thomas | Syndicated columnist | Published: Sep 07, 2005

A Double-Edged Sword

September 8, 2005

Listening to the blame game being played by liberal democrats and their big media friends can be a double-edged sword.

Blame can hurt the blamer and his objectives.

The Washington Times reported yesterday that the mayor of New Orleans, democrat Ray Nagin, met with Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco and President Bush last Friday.

Nagin said the president offered federal help in evacuating New Orleans before the hurricane hit.

He says the governor asked for 24 hours to think about it.

By then it was too late.

New Orleans failed to implement its own evacuation plan.

School and public transit buses were not used and many died as a result of the indecision and wrong decisions.

Governor Blanco is critical of the president, as is Lousiana Senator Mary Landrieu, another democrat.

But the president could not act without the governor's permission and she fiddled while New Orleans drowned.

It will be good to investigate what went wrong, but part of the problem is the huge bureaucracy of FEMA and Homeland Security.

The answer is not more government.

It is leaner, more efficient government.

I'm Cal Thomas in Washington.


Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C. Watch his television show, After Hours with Cal Thomas, on the Fox News Channel, Saturdays at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.

A Double-Edged Sword