Aaron vs. Bush

It was only a matter of time. Now, what I'm presenting to you tonight is a very one-sided debate in which I will basically annotate the released transcript of Bush's speech tonight with the intent of debasing the man. I'm going to do to him what Katrina did to New Orleans: which is, according to Bush, "nearly empty, still partly underwater, and waiting for life and hope to return." That said, I really don't have to do much work. In fact, I feel as if I could leave the following alone as a horrific monologue.

[Interlude: A friend of mine once auditioned for a Shakespearian comedy by doing a tragic speech, "To be or not to be," or something like that, with sock puppets. He did not, suffice it to say, get into the show. However, I don't think that reflects as poorly on him as this aforementioned horrific monologue, one that could be delivered by Captain Obvious.]

[Second Interlude: And along that train of thought: Bush is on a lower level of existance than a pop singer. I have previously railed at pop stars for not writing their own material, but whether you like them or not, they do put up a good show. They make other people's songs look good, other people's choreography, directing, &c. Bush somehow manages to do none of the above, which is unfortunate for a man who should be leading this country. He not only doesn't write his own material (unless asking permission at the UN to take a pee break), but he doesn't deliver it well. He may have the ultimate pressure on him, but that's what we give him long extended vacations for.]

Those little interludes should give you more than a fair taste of what you're in for. Here we go folks. "Glasses onnnnnnnn!"

BUSH: Good evening. I am speaking to you from the city of New Orleans, nearly empty, still partly underwater, and waiting for life and hope to return. Eastward from Lake Pontchartrain, across the Mississippi coast, to Alabama and into Florida, millions of lives were changed in a day by a cruel and wasteful storm.

AARON: Thankee-sai, Cap'n. Way to emphasize the importance of geography over that of human life. And thank you for humanizing the disaster while at the same time trivializing it as a simple storm. I know, I know, slap a face on it and you can launch a nuke at it! But wait: it's not alive, it's a giant wind tunnel, affectionately known to the intelligent as a hurricane. I know you dislike large words, but The Post got around that by calling it a 'cane.

BUSH: In the aftermath, we have seen fellow citizens left stunned and uprooted, searching for loved ones, and grieving for the dead and looking for meaning in a tragedy that seems so blind and random. We have also witnessed the kind of desperation no citizen of this great and generous nation should ever have to know - fellow Americans calling out for food and water, vulnerable people left at the mercy of criminals who had no mercy, and the bodies of the dead lying uncovered and untended in the street.

These days of sorrow and outrage have also been marked by acts of courage and kindness that make all Americans proud. Coast Guard and other personnel rescued tens of thousands of people from flooded neighborhoods. Religious congregations and families have welcomed strangers as brothers and sisters and neighbors.

AARON: In what we'll see as a recurring theme, Bush will constantly applaud the effort of religious people; as if normal people didn't give a damn. Let's also give a hand to the repetition of Bush's speechwriter: criminals, by definition, tend not to have mercy. Also, let's clarify: this hurricane may indeed have been blind (it not being animate and all), but it is far from random. We saw it coming. On the same TVs that we could later watch bodies of the dead and the punctuating acts of courage and kindness, we saw Katrina coming. I know you might not have TV out on the ranch, but it didn't just suddenly appear. Nor were the last three years of your cuts to the Engineers Corps "accidental."

BUSH: In the community of Chalmette, when two men tried to break into a home, the owner invited them to stay and took in 15 other people who had no place to go. At Tulane Hospital for Children, doctors and nurses didn't eat for days so patients could have food, and eventually carried the patients on their backs up eight flights of stairs to helicopters.

Many first responders were victims themselves - wounded healers, with a sense of duty greater than their own suffering. When I met Steve Scott of the Biloxi Fire Department, he and his colleagues were conducting a house-to-house search for survivors. Steve told me this: ``I lost my house and I lost my cars, but I still got my family ... and I still got my spirit.''

AARON: Hey there again buddy. All the first responders were victims, considering the first responders were the people there. Who lived there. You know, in that little city that no longer exists? It's nice that he still had his family: a lot of people didn't. And they didn't care about houses and cars when they were starving to death: I believe they lost their spirits around this point.

BUSH: Across the Gulf Coast, among people who have lost much and suffered much and given to the limit of their power, we are seeing that same spirit: a core of strength that survives all hurt, a faith in God no storm can take away and a powerful American determination to clear the ruins and build better than before.

AARON: In other words, the headline should read: "Bush to God: Fuck Off!" Storms, according to intelligent design, are too complex too be created by freak accidents like "nature." The creator, that little voice in your ear, is therefore the person who sent this "storm" upon us. So it's a faith in God that God can't take away. I guess that answers the question of what happens when the unstoppable force meets the unmovable object.

BUSH: Tonight so many victims of the hurricane and the flood are far from home and friends and familiar things. You need to know that our whole nation cares about you, and in the journey ahead, you are not alone. To all who carry a burden of loss, I extend the deepest sympathy of our country. To every person who has served and sacrificed in this emergency, I offer the gratitude of our country.

And tonight I also offer this pledge of the American people: Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we will do what it takes. We will stay as long as it takes to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives. And all who question the future of the Crescent City need to know: There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again.

AARON: On the other hand, Hawaii and Alaska have been declared expendable. As for New Orleans, let's leave that explanation to Rob Smiegel as Clinton: "We gotta have the beads! Mardi Gras! Whooo!" Now, how many of us knew that New Orleans was called the "Crescent City"? Hmm, I guess we can imagine an America without it; albeit one far less festive. However, let's take this moment of silence to consider yet another recurring theme: you saying that we're going to stay as long as it takes to help these AMERICAN citizens... that's a statement of fact; more than that: it's your job.

[Interlude 3: Be warned. The way Bush acts as if he's going out of his way to do his job, it's only a matter of time before he starts passing around a tip jar too. Nothing disgusts me more than people being upset when they don't get paid additionally for providing the service we're already paying them for.]

BUSH: The work of rescue is largely finished; the work of recovery is moving forward. In nearly all of Mississippi, electric power has been restored. Trade is starting to return to the Port of New Orleans, and agricultural shipments are moving down the Mississippi River. All major gasoline pipelines are now in operation, preventing the supply disruptions that many feared.

The breaks in the levees have been closed, the pumps are running, and the water here in New Orleans is receding by the hour. Environmental officials are on the ground, taking water samples, identifying and dealing with hazardous debris, and working to get drinking water and wastewater treatment systems operating again. And some very sad duties are being carried out by professionals who gather the dead, treat them with respect and prepare them for their rest.

In the task of recovery and rebuilding, some of the hardest work is still ahead and it will require the creative skill and generosity of a united country.

AARON: Now honestly, the port of New Orleans never ceased to exist, so restoring operations isn't that hard. The port simply expanded, that's all. That's a poor joke though, in bad taste, and unlike Bush I'll acknowlege this mistake and move on to the more important thing: before we've talked about repairing the levees and restoring homes, we've assuaged the public's main concern. Major gasoline pipelines. This wasn't really a problem for area residents who are still simply FLOATING their cars to work.

BUSH: Our first commitment is to meet the immediate needs of those who had to flee their homes and leave all their possessions behind. For these Americans, every night brings uncertainty, every day requires new courage and the months to come will bring more than their fair share of struggles.

The Department of Homeland Security is registering evacuees who are now in shelters, churches or private homes, whether in the Gulf region or far away. I have signed an order providing immediate assistance to people from the disaster area. As of today, more than 500 thousand evacuee families have gotten emergency help to pay for food, clothing and other essentials.

Evacuees who have not yet registered should contact FEMA or the Red Cross. We need to know who you are, because many of you will also be eligible for broader assistance in the future. Many families were separated during the evacuation, and we are working to help you reunite. Please call 1-877-568-3317 - that's 1-877-568-3317 - and we will work to bring your family back together, and pay for your travel to reach them.

AARON: I feel it's important to point out that the evacuees who haven't yet registered for FEMA or Red Cross aid either can't, don't have televisions, or would prefer to do this without government interference. Again, the town is still in poor condition: from what phones are they placing these (thankfully) toll-free calls? That's okay, it's the thought that counts: we're a country of proud SPIRITS who don't need practicality. We're creative.

BUSH: In addition, we are taking steps to ensure that evacuees don't have to travel great distances or navigate bureaucracies to get the benefits that are there for them. The Department of Health and Human Services has sent more than 15 hundred health professionals, along with over 50 tons of medical supplies, including vaccines, antibiotics and medicines, for people with chronic conditions such as diabetes. The Social Security Administration is delivering checks. The Department of Labor is helping displaced persons apply for temporary jobs and unemployment benefits. And the Postal Service is registering new addresses so that people can get their mail.

AARON: Both Jeanette and I instantly realized the underlying truth of this insidious message. These "dislocated" residents desperately need their bills and spam: those are the foundations of America. They can become the new landfill and foundation for New New Orleans.

BUSH: To carry out the first stages of the relief effort and begin the rebuilding at once, I have asked for, and the Congress has provided, more than $60 billion. This is an unprecedented response to an unprecedented crisis, which demonstrates the compassion and resolve of our nation.

AARON: Near the end of this speech, when our attention spans can no longer retain this not-so-inspirational statement, Bush will explain that we have weathered the similar crises of 9/11, Jamestown, Plymouth, Chicago and San Fransisco. And didn't we help raise an awful lot of money recently for tsunami victims across the world? And spend an unprecedented amount of money giving the Iraqi people democracy?

BUSH: Our second commitment is to help the citizens of the Gulf Coast to overcome this disaster, put their lives back together and rebuild their communities. Along this coast, for mile after mile, the wind and water swept the land clean. In Mississippi, many thousands of houses were damaged or destroyed. In New Orleans and surrounding parishes, more than a quarter million houses are no longer safe to live in. Hundreds of thousands of people from across this region will need to find longer-term housing.

AARON: What was the first commitment again? Oh yeah. Oil pipelines.

BUSH: Our goal is to get people out of shelters by the middle of October. So we are providing direct assistance to evacuees that allows them to rent apartments, and many already are moving into places of their own. A number of states have taken in evacuees and shown them great compassion, admitting children to school and providing health care. So I will work with Congress to ensure that states are reimbursed for these extra expenses.

In the disaster area and in cities that have received huge numbers of displaced people we are beginning to bring in mobile homes and trailers for temporary use. To relieve the burden on local health care facilities in the region, we are sending extra doctors and nurses to these areas. We are also providing money that can be used to cover overtime pay for police and fire departments while cities and towns rebuild.

Near New Orleans, Biloxi and other cities, housing is urgently needed for police and firefighters, other service providers and the many workers who are going to rebuild those cities. Right now, many are sleeping on ships we have brought to the Port of New Orleans, and more ships are on their way to the region. And we will provide mobile homes and supply them with basic services, as close to the construction areas as possible, so the rebuilding process can go forward as quickly as possible.

And the federal government will undertake a close partnership with the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, the city of New Orleans and other Gulf Coast cities so they can rebuild in a sensible, well planned way. Federal funds will cover the great majority of the costs of repairing public infrastructure in the disaster zone, from roads and bridges to schools and water systems. Our goal is to get the work done quickly. And taxpayers expect this work to be done honestly and wisely, so we will have a team of inspectors general reviewing all expenditures.

AARON: I'm still here. I don't feel it's important to keep rehashing that Bush is just stating the obvious. Although if you dig a little deeper, don't you just love the way he says that federal funds will cover the "great majority of the costs." Why don't you consider levying a "crisis tax" or something that slightly raises taxes (we're talking like, around $5 more a person) to make sure that everybody is back on their feet? But wait; let's not forget that you are the man trying to privatize social security so that we'll ultimately all have to fend for ourselves.

BUSH: In the rebuilding process, there will be many important decisions and many details to resolve, yet we are moving forward according to some clear principles. The federal government will be fully engaged in the mission, but Governor Barbour, Governor Blanco, Mayor Nagin and other state and local leaders will have the primary role in planning for their own future. Clearly, communities will need to move decisively to change zoning laws and building codes, in order to avoid a repeat of what we have seen. And in the work of rebuilding, as many jobs as possible should go to men and women who live in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Our third commitment is this: When communities are rebuilt, they must be even better and stronger than before the storm. Within the Gulf region are some of the most beautiful and historic places in America. As all of us saw on television, there is also some deep, persistent poverty in this region as well. And that poverty has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America. We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action. So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday, and let us rise above the legacy of inequality.

When the streets are rebuilt, there should be many new businesses, including minority-owned businesses, along those streets. When the houses are rebuilt, more families should own, not rent, those houses. When the regional economy revives, local people should be prepared for the jobs being created. Americans want the Gulf Coast not just to survive, but to thrive, not just to cope, but to overcome. We want evacuees to come home for the best of reasons, because they have a real chance at a better life in a place they love.

AARON: So you mean you do like black people? This is what we call a blanket statement: how exactly are more families - minority families at that - going to own houses? It's not enough to just say that you envision a future where everybody is equal: poverty, like a hurricane, like the concept of terrorism: they are not afraid of your nuclear arsenal.

BUSH: When one resident of this city who lost his home was asked by a reporter if he would relocate, he said, ``Naw, I will rebuild but I'll build higher.'' That is our vision of the future, in this city and beyond: We will not just rebuild, we will build higher and better.To meet this goal, I will listen to good ideas from Congress, state and local officials, and the private sector. I believe we should start with three initiatives that the Congress should pass.

AARON: Holy shit! You're going to listen to good ideas from Congress! And officials! And the shady sounding "private sector." In other words: you're going to continue to do exactly what you've done for the rest of your presidency. You're going to listen to others and let them pull your strings, which admittedly, is probably safer than actually trying to do anything yourself. We wouldn't want you to blow a fuse or anything. Aren't we all more encouraged, hopeful and inspired by our valiant leader telling us that he has NO IDEAS, but that he's more than willing and able to LISTEN to those of others?

BUSH: Tonight I propose the creation of a Gulf Opportunity Zone, encompassing the region of the disaster in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Within this zone, we should provide immediate incentives for job-creating, investment tax relief for small businesses, incentives to companies that create jobs, and loans and loan guarantees for small businesses, including minority-owned enterprises, to get them up and running again. It is entrepreneurship that creates jobs and opportunity, it is entrepreneurship that helps break the cycle of poverty and we will take the side of entrepreneurs as they lead the economic revival of the Gulf region.

AARON: No sir. It is money that creates jobs and opportunities. Money being spent through entrepreneurship (and I applaud your efforts to say this word, though you fumbled three for three) and other vehicles for the trickle-down theory. Thankfully, you've PROPOSED the creation of accounts that MIGHT pay some ELIGIBLE evacuees who need extra help UP TO $5,000. That'll definately do it. Why don't you put some golden tickets in Hershey bars while you're at it?

BUSH: I propose the creation of Worker Recovery Accounts to help those evacuees who need extra help finding work. Under this plan, the federal government would provide accounts of up to $5,000, which these evacuees could draw upon for job training and education to help them get a good job and for child care expenses during their job search.

To help lower-income citizens in the hurricane region build new and better lives, I also propose that Congress pass an Urban Homesteading Act. Under this approach, we will identify property in the region owned by the federal government, and provide building sites to low-income citizens free of charge, through a lottery. In return, they would pledge to build on the lot, with either a mortgage or help from a charitable organization like Habitat for Humanity. Homeownership is one of the great strengths of any community, and it must be a central part of our vision for the revival of this region.In the long run, the New Orleans area has a particular challenge, because much of the city lies below sea level. The people who call it home need to have reassurance that their lives will be safer in the years to come. Protecting a city that sits lower than the water around it is not easy, but it can and has been done. City and parish officials in New Orleans and state officials in Louisiana will have a large part in the engineering decisions to come, and the Army Corps of Engineers will work at their side to make the flood protection system stronger than it has ever been.

The work that has begun in the Gulf Coast region will be one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen. When that job is done, all Americans will have something to be very proud of, and all Americans are needed in this common effort. It is the armies of compassion - charities and houses of worship and idealistic men and women - that give our reconstruction effort its humanity. They offer to those who hurt a friendly face, an arm around the shoulder and the reassurance that in hard times, they can count on someone who cares. By land, by sea and by air, good people wanting to make a difference deployed to the Gulf Coast, and they have been working around the clock ever since.

The cash needed to support the armies of compassion is great, and Americans have given generously. For example, the private fundraising effort led by former Presidents Bush and Clinton has already received pledges of more than $100 million. Some of that money is going to governors, to be used for immediate needs within their states. A portion will also be sent to local houses of worship, to help reimburse them for the expense of helping others. This evening the need is still urgent, and I ask the American people to continue donating to the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, other good charities and religious congregations in the region.

AARON: Okay, I've left you alone to ramble for a while, and look where it gets you! You are sending only a portion of this $100 million dollars that OTHER presidents have raised on your inept behalf to governors for emergencies. The rest is going to local "houses of worship"? I'm sorry: seperation of Church and State. The Church takes donations from the clergy all the time for exactly this purpose: to aid and help our society (or at least, that's what they say). They shouldn't need money from the government, and they shouldn't get it. Charities are fine, but people don't need faith right now: they need basic amenities.

BUSH: It is also essential for the many organizations of our country to reach out to your fellow citizens in the Gulf area. So I have asked USA Freedom Corps to create an information clearinghouse, available at usafreedomcorps.gov, so that families anywhere in the country can find opportunities to help families in the region or a school can support a school. And I challenge existing organizations - churches, Scout troops or labor union locals - to get in touch with their counterparts in Mississippi, Louisiana or Alabama, and learn what they can do to help. In this great national enterprise, important work can be done by everyone, and everyone should find their role and do their part.

The government of this nation will do its part as well. Our cities must have clear and up-to-date plans for responding to natural disasters, disease outbreaks or terrorist attack, for evacuating large numbers of people in an emergency and for providing the food, water and security they would need. In a time of terror threats and weapons of mass destruction, the danger to our citizens reaches much wider than a fault line or a flood plain. I consider detailed emergency planning to be a national security priority. Therefore, I have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to undertake an immediate review, in cooperation with local counterparts, of emergency plans in every major city in America.

I also want to know all the facts about the government response to Hurricane Katrina. The storm involved a massive flood, a major supply and security operation, and an evacuation order affecting more than a million people. It was not a normal hurricane and the normal disaster relief system was not equal to it. Many of the men and women of the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the United States military, the National Guard, Homeland Security and state and local governments performed skillfully under the worst conditions. Yet the system, at every level of government, was not well coordinated and was overwhelmed in the first few days. It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces, the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice.

AARON: It wasn't a normal hurricane folks, you heard it here first. It was a mutant. An X-Hurricane. The ubermensch of natural disasters. Give me a break: I'm glad that you now plan to develop emergency plans for large urban areas (this apparently is the only thing that government is responsible for). It does frighten me though that as with September 11, you are using this as an excuse to gain greater federal authority and more power for the military. We do need operational plans and the national guard should be here (not Iraq), but all we really need to do is just react faster. That's it. No more hitting the snooze alarm, okay chief?

BUSH: Four years after the frightening experience of September 11th, Americans have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency. When the federal government fails to meet such an obligation, I, as President, am responsible for the problem, and for the solution. So I have ordered every Cabinet secretary to participate in a comprehensive review of the government response to the hurricane. This government will learn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina. We are going to review every action and make necessary changes, so that we are better prepared for any challenge of nature, or act of evil men, that could threaten our people.The United States Congress also has an important oversight function to perform. Congress is preparing an investigation, and I will work with members of both parties to make sure this effort is thorough.

In the life of this nation, we have often been reminded that nature is an awesome force, and that all life is fragile. We are the heirs of men and women who lived through those first terrible winters at Jamestown and Plymouth, who rebuilt Chicago after a great fire, and San Francisco after a great earthquake, who reclaimed the prairie from the dust bowl of the 1930s. Every time, the people of this land have come back from fire, flood and storm to build anew and to build better than what we had before. Americans have never left our destiny to the whims of nature and we will not start now.

These trials have also reminded us that we are often stronger than we know, with the help of grace and one another. They remind us of a hope beyond all pain and death, a God who welcomes the lost to a house not made with hands. And they remind us that we are tied together in this life, in this nation, and that the despair of any touches us all.

AARON: When I was a counselor for a Jewish summer camp, they used to make us sing a song called "Don't Laugh At Me," by Mark Willis. One of the lines is "In god's eyes, we're all the same/someday we'll all have perfect wings." This seems to me the exact same as what Bush is saying here: we may be horribly unequal, racially discriminatory and violent, but God will welcome us after we die with open arms. This life isn't very important, which is apparently why Bush is striving so hard to make sure all life as we know it ends before his term does.

BUSH: I know that when you sit on the steps of a porch where a home once stood or sleep on a cot in a crowded shelter it is hard to imagine a bright future. But that future will come. The streets of Biloxi and Gulfport will again be filled with lovely homes and the sound of children playing. The churches of Alabama will have their broken steeples mended and their congregations whole. And here in New Orleans, the streetcars will once again rumble down St. Charles, and the passionate soul of a great city will return.

In this place, there is a custom for the funerals of jazz musicians. The funeral procession parades slowly through the streets, followed by a band playing a mournful dirge as it moves to the cemetery. Once the casket has been laid in place, the band breaks into a joyful ``second line'' symbolizing the triumph of the spirit over death. Tonight the Gulf Coast is still coming through the dirge, yet we will live to see the second line.

Thank you, and may God bless America.

AARON: Despite the overwhelming presence of God at the end here, this part's actually kind of poignant. I read once that all we really remember is the very beginning and the very end. I strongly believe that Bush subscribes to this theory along with his speechwriters, because this is probably the only decent and uplifting portion of the speech.

Now, I know you were probably expecting more commentary from me, but that's it. I'm completely spent. I just feel that you should know I probably spent more time writing the annotations to this speech than Bush did reading or editing it. Before you label me anti-American, my heart really does go out to all of the victims of Katrina. I just can't stand the cloying lies of our government. Be safe, America. Be safe.