At Kausfiles, Mickey Kaus makes the interesting argument that perhaps, just perhaps, federalism is to blame for the whole Katrina aftermath “fiasco”. That is, the lack of a clear chain of command across (or down through) the different layers of government (federal, state, municipal) prevented any one government from assuming responsibility and control: “This gratuitous complication of authority clearly crippled effective planning for a New Orleans catastrophe.”
As I argue over at The Reaction, I disagree that states represent “an unnecessary level of government” — given the size and scope of the U.S., does a centralized system with a unitary national government ruling over diverse municipalities make any sense? — but it does seem to be the case that a power struggle between Washington (President Bush) and Louisiana (Governor Blanco), not to mention New Orleans itself (Mayor Nagin), was partly to blame for the initially inept response to Katrina, and hence for much of the death and devastation of those first few days.
Needless to say, it’s much easier to blame a person (Bush, Blanco, Nagin, Brown, Chertoff) or an institution (FEMA, DHS, the White House) than an idea or, in this case, a system. After all, who can be held responsible for the alleged problems of American federalism? James Madison? Montesquieu? Perhaps, but certainly not Bush.
To be sure, there is a good deal of blame to go around, and, in the end, I’m prepared to blame people, institutions, and the system in which they operate. Following Kaus, it might be useful to debate the merits of American federalism more generally, but I now think, after avoiding and opposing partisan politicization early last week, that there does need to be a demand for actual accountability. In other words, those who failed need to pay. (In this regard, the characteristically ironic-sarcastic Jon Stewart couldn’t quite conceal his own anger and frustration on last night’s Daily Show.)
For his part, Bush has promised a probe, but, as Joe has passionately argued here at TMV, it’s time for Bush to clean house now.
The problem, however, is that Bush isn’t about to assume responsibility in any real way. It’s just not his style. Indeed, with Bush’s approval rating on Katrina lagging under 50%, and, more generally, with widespread disapproval of the government’s (all governments’) handling of the crisis, the well-oiled White House spin machine has kicked up its operations, desperately trying to deflect criticism and to heap blame on anyone and everyone, anything and everything, else. Perhaps Rove, too, will turn against American federalism if all else fails.
I just don’t think this spin will work. Not now. Not with such a crisis on American soil, not with such obvious bungling. New Orleans isn’t Baghdad, after all, where spin overwhelms truth and reality is filtered through the prism of disinformation, and for the first time, the Bush Administration looks truly vulnerable. Bush rose to the occasion after 9/11, up to the apex of his presidency, but now he looks helpless and clueless, a rudderless leader at a time when leadership is needed most and when Americans rightly turn to their president above all others. It may be right to posit blame on other leaders and other levels of government, and perhaps even on the system itself, but, in the end, the buck stops on Bush’s desk.