If I had a family member who voted for the Republican presidential ticket last November, I'd ask him or her about this story, passed on by the Post's refreshingly critical Dan Froomkin:
Sometimes the best place to find out what the White House is doing is, well, anywhere but the White House.Case in point: Nikki Davis Maute writes in the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American: "Shortly after Hurricane Katrina roared through South Mississippi knocking out electricity and communication systems, the White House ordered power restored to a pipeline that sends fuel to the Northeast.
"That order - to restart two power substations in Collins that serve Colonial Pipeline Co. - delayed efforts by at least 24 hours to restore power to two rural hospitals and a number of water systems in the Pine Belt. . . .
"Dan Jordan, manager of Southern Pines Electric Power Association, said Vice President Dick Cheney's office called and left voice mails twice shortly after the storm struck, saying the Collins substations needed power restored immediately."
I could've sworn that the Yale-educated (well, sort of, anyway) Texan (well, sort of, anyway) appealed not only to some sense that he'd protect us from disasters (well, sort of, anyway) but also that, as a folksy guy with whom I might like to share a non-alcoholic beer or two, he'd look out for the good folks down there in Hattiesburg, who damn sure weren't going to vote for some lib'rul from Taxachussetts.
As it happens, the good folks down there in Hattiesburg (a fine town) (my people hail from north Mississippi, but we make it down to "Hattusburg" ever' once in a while) got short shrift from their pal George, I guess.
Let's be clear. No doubt the argument was made that a ready supply of oil to the northeastern U.S. was more important than providing power to a couple of Hattiesburg hospitals. It's even possible that those hospitals had working generators. The issue, here, is that the president's appeal to everyday-ness (the excuse for his mal mots, we assume) got southern Mississippi nowhere when it was time to get big oil flowing again. Clearing brush? Sure. Clearing brush because he's just like them boys down in Hattiesburg? Hardly.
Posted by dave at September 13, 2005 8:17 PM | TrackBack