Time for Leadership

I haven't been blogging for a while because thinking about the current state of American politics every day starts to get depressing. I do try to be an informed citizen, but to read the news and then sit down and write about it, rather than moving onto something more positive, gets wearing after a while.

As we entered the 21st century, the big question for me was how the Unites States should build on its successes and good fortune. A tough question to answer, but it was inspiring to try. Now the big question is how to survive another three years of Bush mismanagement and incompetence.

Tonight I caught a portion of the News Hour, with the head of FEMA talking in an upbeat fashion about how they were providing food to the people in the Superdome and bussing them out. Later I watched the footage from the convention center on MSNBC. The reporter practically begged the government to send in busses for these people. Three days and no one waiting at the convention center has been evactuated.

I try to be cautious in my writing, argue from facts, and not underestimate the complexity of the real world. But I have a hard time accepting that we are doing the best we can do. There are going to be mistakes and confusion in the wake of a catastrophe like this one. But we should be getting beyond that. Round up food, commandeer busses, do whatever it takes to get the people waiting at the convention center fed and evacuated.