The New York Times and Bush’s New Orleans speech

Among the most deplorable commentaries was the lead editorial of the New York Times, the principal voice of the “liberal” establishment in America. The newspaper gushed over Bush’s speech, describing it as “principled, disciplined and ambitious.”

The Times claimed that Bush “forthrightly acknowledged his responsibility for the egregious mishandling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He spoke clearly and candidly about race and poverty. And finally, he was clear about what would be needed to bring back the Gulf Coast and said the federal government would have to lead and pay for that effort.”

The newspaper compared Bush’s performance to his supposedly exemplary role in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks: “Once again, he has delivered a speech that will reassure many Americans that he understands the enormity of the event and the demands of leadership to come.”

The Times did express concern that after 9/11 and the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, which the newspaper supported, Bush turned to the invasion of Iraq, about which the Times now has doubts—not so much because of Bush’s lies about a connection between Iraq and 9/11, as because the US occupation has become bogged down in a protracted guerrilla war.

The response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster should be more thought out, the newspaper advised. “This time, Mr. Bush must come up with a more coherent and well-organized follow-through.” Presumably, this was an appeal to Bush not to respond to the drowning of New Orleans by invading Cuba, or perhaps abolishing Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

What criticism the Times made of the White House was in reference to Bush’s dismissive attitude towards the domestic responsibilities of the federal government. Federal agencies like FEMA proved incapable, under the leadership of Bush loyalists, of providing any serious emergency relief. Only “a focused federal effort” can accomplish such tasks as housing hundreds of thousands of now-homeless people and providing for their employment and the education of their children, the newspaper concluded.

The Times was silent about the social and political meaning of the actual measures that Bush announced in his speech, which were later elaborated in press briefings by White House aides. The centerpiece is the establishment of a Gulf Opportunity Zone, in which most taxes and federal regulation of business will be waived in order to “encourage entrepreneurship.” The Environmental Protection Agency has already suspended enforcement of most anti-pollution laws in the zone.

There are also plans to issue tuition vouchers that could fund private and religious schools, rather than rebuilding the public school systems in the disaster area, an Urban Homesteading Program on federal land, and $5,000 Worker Recovery Accounts with federal money that could be used for job retraining.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2005/sep2005/times-s17.shtml