These guys never stop. That weasel Chertoff, the secretary of Homeland Security(sic), whose office presides over FEMA , says that Brown was pulled from Katrina relief because he was needed to 'work on future potential disasters.' Yeah, that's it.
Brown had no disaster experience. Still doesn't, really. He was the president of the International Equine Association from 1991-2001 and was appointed in 2001 as the FEMA leader? WTF? I really don't know the answer, but who makes this appointment? I think I heard it wasn't the president, but somebody else. They said a name, but I didn't recognize it.
That said, FEMA ran pretty smoothly down here last year. They were here quickly and for the most part, efficiently.
I think the big difference was in how the Governors reacted. Now, the more cynical among us would make a case that Florida got preferential treatment because Jeb is W's brother. I don't think it was that at all. The difference between his actions and Blancos actions, both pre and post storm, are striking.
But one interesting thing is how many top people (mayors, congressmen, even senators, etc) are now speaking up about how Brown said 'no,' time and time again, both before and after the storm to them personally.
When asked what now, Brown responded:
"I'm going to go walk my dog, hug my wife, have a good Mexican meal and a stiff margarita and then go back to helping the relief efforts. (paraphrasing a little, but not much)"
Nice.
