Bush is Having a Hard Time

US struggles to recruit disaster chief as new hurricane season looms


WASHINGTON (AFP) - The administration of US
President George W. Bush is struggling ahead of the looming hurricane season to recruit a new federal disaster management chief after several candidates turned the job down.

"Seven of these candidates for director or another top FEMA job said in interviews that they had pulled themselves out of the running," the New York Times said.

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It said those canvassed for the job so far were "unconvinced that the administration is serious about fixing the Federal Emergency Management Agency or that there is enough time actually to get it done before president Bush's second term ends" in early 2009.

"You don't take the fire chief job after someone has burned down the city unless you are going to be able to do it in the right fashion," Ellis M. Stanley, a general manager of emergency planning in Los Angeles and one of those called by the administration, told the Times.

The report said Bush is now likely to nominate R. David Paulison, a former fire official who has been filling in for the past seven months, to take the job permanently.

"To a lot of people that would be an insult," said Craig Fugate, the top emergency management official in Florida, who said he also had been interviewed but then withdrew his name.

"They have been publicly out looking at how many different names and everyone turned it down and they come back and ask you?" Fugate told the Times.

With much of New Orleans and the Gulf coast still to be rebuild and widespread criticism of the government's slow response to Katrina last year, the White House is looking for a seasoned disaster official.

And all I can say is, "Har de har har har". No one wants to be the next scapegoat as global warming makes the Gulf coast unlivable, yet people insist on living there.

My mom had a saying, whenever we would bring things on ourselves:

"Now, put THAT in your pipe and smoke it!"