A question...

I have a question. It's not really a valid question, for several reasons that I'll get into later, but I have it, so I'm going to ask it.

Was Haley Barbour asked to sign over the control of HIS state to the Administration before THEY got help?

Now, some of the reasons why this isn't a valid question are:

1. The nature of the problems in Mississippi weren't the same as those in New Orleans, so arguably federalization of powers was not called for.
2. Also, if Haley Barbour WAS asked and DID sign over his state, that doesn't mean it was the right thing to do, only that Barbour, a staunchly loyal Bush Republican, does what he's asked.

Still, I'd love to know if, in the same situation, a loyal Republican governor would have been asked to federalize his state before the feds would lift a finger to help. Was Rudy Guilliani (spelling approximate) asked to federalize NYC or George Pataki New York State on 9/11?

Because this is key to the right wings argument about New Orleans. Gov. Blanco wouldn't, they say, sign the federalization papers (which is what we really meant when we said "declaration of state of emergency") and that's what caused the delay in response.

I think this fails on a number of levels. Gov. Blanco should have had control over the National Guard troops in her state... only there weren't many. Several states offered to send some (since Louisiana's contingent were mostly in Iraq, training for Iraq, or on leave recently back from Iraq) but the transfer from state to state requires White House approval... which didn't come until very late.

So Gov. Blanco didn't have many National Guard troops to operate with.

Should she have federalized? I don't know, but I think it is insane to think that the federal government tried to hold her hostage until she would, by not moving to help and by actively (in some cases) preventing locally coordinated aid from doing it's job. Again, I point to the three cases listed by Parish President Broussard on Sunday: Shipments of water turned back by FEMA, emergency shipments of diesel fuel refused to local authorities on FEMAs orders, FEMA cutting emergency communication lines (I still haven't heard any logical reason for that one).

And if she HAD federalized, would the administration then have swooped in, saved the day, and then crowed about how they (the Republicans) had saved the day after the inept Democrats on the ground threw up their hands and turned it all over to them?

There is blame here for a number of people, but I still have to wonder why every time we saw Nagin or Broussard or Blanco on television, they looked harried and exhausted, but every time we saw Brown or Bush or Chertoff they looked rested and calm and well rehearsed? Seeing that, can there be any question who is actually working on the problem (however ineffectively) and who, well, isn't?

Liam.