According to the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted among 1,523 Americans Sept. 8-11, more Americans are focusing criticism on state and local leaders for pre- and post-Katrina failures. To me, that’s a measure of the effectiveness of the administration’s efforts to redirect criticism from the president and his lackeys onto the DEMOCRATIC governor of Louisiana and mayor of New Orleans while praising the REPUBLICAN governors of Mississippi and Alabama.
Currently, just 34% of respondents give in Mississippi and Louisiana state and local governments an excellent or good rating on how they handled the disaster, down from 41% last week. Public opinion of the federal government’s disaster response are unchanged from last week — 37% positive, 61% negative.
Republicans and Democrats view the performance of state and local governments similarly (34% positive for Republicans, 37% for Democrats), unlike opinions of the federal government’s response, which are divided along party lines. Whites and blacks share views about the state and local response, but blacks are much more negative than whites about how the federal government has dealt with the Katrina’s impact.
Saturday, “This American Life” on NPR discussed the fact that Bush did indeed declare a federal disaster on Monday, Aug. 29. Most of us think that when a place is declared a disaster area, it means it’s got major damage. That’s what WE mean when we say it (example: “Son, your room is a disaster area”). But what it means when the federal government declares it is that the federal government is in charge from that point forward. It’s a little like declaring martial law, and local governments can be included in the effort if it helps but the Feds are calling the shots. Period. End of discussion. So there is no need to wonder if the mayor of New Orleans or Biloxi or Pass Christian could have done more. From the moment Bush made the disaster declaration, it was his baby.