Cobb

I suppose some moderate Democrats will rise, too.

At a time like this, most everyone gets in touch with their liberal side, and the context of "the village" and "brother's keeper" becomes clear.

I was proud of a few (just a few) black conservatives during the past two week, because for once their compassion out-distanced their compulsion.

Are you giving Nagin a pass because he is really a Black Republican?

Dang. The man screwed up from start to finish.

How do Libertarians lose out on this? Just curious on your thoughts. I'm not too familiar with their platform so you'll have to educate me on this when you get the time.

For Nagin, everything pretty much hinges on the timeline for the buses. But even so, he was the man who initiated the largest evacuation of a modern city, probably in human history.

So when the death toll is revealed to be 200 all we'll have to deal with is the 'slaveship' (yeah right) of the Superdome.

Tell me, where was everybody supposed to go? I really want to know since everybody has suddenly become an expert on Nagin's evacuation plans that he "didn't implement". Where were they supposed to go other than the Superdome, Biloxi?

...where was everybody supposed to go?

It keeps coming back to that. There isn't some backup city somewhere in the woods set aside to accomodate a major metropolitan area's complete evacuation, and I don't imagine we'll find the budget to make it happen.

Even the buses scenario is overblown and I can't see why people think the outcome would have been better. You would have basically had to make a deal with the bus drivers that they can take their family on the bus as long as they took a busload of people somewhere (north? east? west? how far?) Then what? Does that make the bus driver Captain Kirk, responsible for the lives of the passengers? How were they supposed to refuel?

Doing nothing can be criticized. Any delay in ordering action can be criticized. But it seems this woulda-coulda-shoulda is just so much talk.

If there was a plan that was not implemented, it is fair to ask the question as to why. If the response is based on financial considerations, which it must always be, then these are particularly valid questions because once areas are designated as disaster areas, there is some opportunity for them to recoup funds in the event that disasters are averted. Therefore, the early designation for Louisiana and Texas, before the hurricane hit, was essential to justifying a more extensive evacuation. I'm not going to place blame in the absence of an informed discussion, but I would continue to ask the questions and demand the answers of the responsible parties. That is only fair...and the questions must be asked with out respect to persons or "race."

where was everybody supposed to go?

If that wasn't in the plan, then don't you think the plan was worthless and as the administrator for the city, he should have known there was no place slated to evacuate to?

Where do they go? Just as a first cut here, high ground? To the west?

I would rather deal with the question of What Now? with busfuls of live people that were evacuated within the context of a pre-strike plan. If nothing bad happens, everybody comes home. If it does go non-linear, they go do what they've done now. An official destination for each bus is a Nice to Have, but certainly not required for a mass evacuation in the face of a hurricane the size of this one.

Well written. You have caused me to reevaluate my opinion on the mayor. I agree about the buses. In addition where would they have bussed the people? You can't just drop 30,000 people off on a country road. The police force totally failed him and the indecisive governor also hurt. I think the biggest failure is the perception that he paniced and lost control.