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...AND LOSERS
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Political stocks will rise
or fall in Katrina's wake
By CHUCK McFADDEN
of TheColumnists.com
Things are changing daily, but for we intrepid pundits, it’s not too early to start deciding who wins and who loses politically from Katrina.
Oh, yes, there will be a political totting-up of all this tragedy. It’s happening already. Nothing happens in this country any more without some political advantage or disadvantage attached.
The hundreds of thousands of New Orleanians who have had their homes destroyed and lives disrupted are the biggest victims of the disaster, of course, but in addition to the human tragedy on the ground--or should we say in the floodwaters--of New Orleans, there are careers and legacies at stake here.
Here’s one early take on who wins and who loses in the world of politics, post-Katrina:
LOSERS
George W. Bush: No-brainer. The president’s slow, fumbling,
“Wha, me Worry?” reaction to what may be the nation’s
worst natural disaster cuts directly at his winningest point
with voters--that he is a strong, decisive leader in times of
crisis.
The president has repeatedly gone to Louisiana and Mississippi
to show his solidarity with the stricken region, but the clichés
he has unloaded so far--the “we look forward to working
with local officials” type of thing--don’t seem to
ring true this time. For whatever reason, the Bush Administration
hasn’t been able so far to hit the right note. And then
there are accusations that National Guard troops who could have
helped Americans were instead off in Iraq, helping Iraqis, as
part of Bush’s war. And then there was the five-week vacation.
And going to San Diego to talk about his agenda when New Orleans
was being inundated. His belated, “I take responsibility”
admission? Too late.
The president’s agenda: How do you appropriate hundreds of billions of dollars for pursuing the war in Iraq AND appropriate hundreds of billions of dollars for Katrina relief without plunging the nation even more disastrously into debt? Answer: You don’t. Something’s gotta give, somewhere. And even the Republicans are getting restive.
Former FEMA chief Mike Brown:Well, of course. The poor guy was in over his head from the get-go. He’ll soon be forgotten, although he may become the butt of enough late-night monologues to keep his name alive for a while longer.
Karl Rove: What happened, Karl? Where was the old magic? We understand you were working from home after a painful attack of kidney stones, but the old Rovian game plan of distract the media, attack, attack, attack and shift the blame didn’t seem to be working this time.
Barbara Bush: What was she thinking? “Well, these people were underprivileged to begin with, of course, so it’s working out pretty well for them.” On tape. On “Marketplace,” a radio program broadcast nationwide. The estimable Jeff Greenfield of CNN predicted the quote from the president’s mother about Katrina’s victims would be on T-shirts within 72 hours, and I’ll bet he was right.
Gov. Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana: Whether she was late and dithering or not, she will draw enough criticism, justified or not, to end her political career.
Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans: Same thing. He’s toast, politically.
Liberal groups hoping to kick up a furor about John Roberts: Katrina sucked the oxygen out of their effort to create a groundswell against Roberts across the country on grounds that he is too conservative. No one’s paying attention.
WINNERS
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas: He quickly threw open Texas schools and Texas hospitality to tens of thousands of displaced children and adults. Lookin’ good, Rick. Of course, we’ll see how things go over the next few months, with Texans having to care for Louisianans on a continuing basis, but right now, Perry and his state deserve kudos for gallantry and generosity.
Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas: He, too, ably geared up his state to accommodate a sudden influx of thousands of displaced people who arrived on the doorstep with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The feds and Louisiana could have used a Huckabee and a Perry.
The Media: What’s this? Have reporters undergone a mass implant of cojones? They are suddenly asking hard-hitting questions and making demands for accountability. So far, they don’t seem to be falling for the usual White House stratagem of distract, intimidate and accuse someone else. Could this be a harbinger of things to come for the remaining three years of the Bush Administration? There’s blood in the water, folks.
John Roberts: His confirmation hearings were well covered, but they were not the center stage media attraction they would have been absent Katrina. That is to Roberts’ benefit. The less hoo-rah about his confirmation, the better for him.
Churches and private charitable groups such as the Red Cross: They were there when the government was not, and everyone knows it. Good job, bible-thumpers.
Wal-Mart:Its response was the biggest and quickest by an American company. Who would have thought of Wal-Mart as generous? But there they were, moving quickly, intelligently and effectively to aid the distressed with truck after truck of badly needed supplies. Sure, it may have been a quick corporate decision to seize an opportunity to improve the company’s public image. But tell that to the folks in New Orleans.
John Edwards: Of course. Here’s a guy with a southern accent who talks about poor people and “two Americas” a lot. The Democrats’ 2004 vice-presidential nominee hasn’t given up on his quest to become president, and, wait and see, he’ll be able to capitalize on Katrina.
Will additional winners and losers emerge during the coming weeks and months? Is New Orleans wet?
©2005 by Charles M.
McFadden. The McFadden caricature is ©2001 by Jim Hummel.
This column first posted
on Sept. 19, 2005.
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