Bush: “I Take Responsibility”
By Montag | Related entries in Hurricane Katrina, Quotes“Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government[.]”
“To the extent the federal government didn’t fully do its job right, I take responsibility[.]” — George Bush
Associated Press: Bush Takes Responsibility for Blunders
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 13th, 2005 and is filed under Hurricane Katrina, Quotes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
September 13th, 2005 at 2:12 pm
The blame, destroy, and deny president finally comes up with the fortitude. Good call Mr. President, Good Call.
September 13th, 2005 at 2:58 pm
Meh. This, to me, is quintessential politico-speak. Seems to say a lot, and in fact says very little. Just like when Reno took responsibility for Waco. “Taking responsibility” is so vague, pro- people will say it’s a noble gesture, while anti- people will long, as always, for a resignation to follow. “To the extent FEMA was responsible” is the elastic clause, as FEMA can’t really do much in this situation anyway.
This is small news. Blanco declaring a state of emergency is bigger news, as that actually results in people being moved around.
September 13th, 2005 at 3:48 pm
But maybe now the people who fill my ears with the endless chorus of “he never admits he’s wrong; he never accepts responsibility” will finally drink a big mug of STFU.
September 13th, 2005 at 3:51 pm
“Finally” being the operative and depressing word here…
September 13th, 2005 at 3:53 pm
Well Cal, the amount of STFU is hardly overflowing. This ONE time represents merely a drop in the mug, but it’s nice that it’s there nonetheless.
September 13th, 2005 at 4:08 pm
I wasn’t aware that running around claiming blame was such an important part of the job of being president. So many things went wrong in World War II, FDR could have issued a daily apology list that would fill a newspaper.
September 13th, 2005 at 9:41 pm
Now that the President has taken responsibility, the changes in FEMA will be …
I invite suggestions. Ojectively observable policies and procedures, please.
September 13th, 2005 at 9:55 pm
The problem with coming to power because the previous administration failed to solve certain problems is, now you have to solve them.
September 14th, 2005 at 12:43 am
Cal makes some good points, however…
I know you like to use historical examples, but World War II was VERY different from today’s situation. FDR was fighting against three countries who wanted to overtake the entire landscape. Our today’s Axis of Evil is dangerous, yes, but hardly poses the threat that the original Axis posed.
Simply put, the terrorists disrupt, but they will NEVER overtake.
And it’s going to be acutely painful for the next President. Let’s hope he’s truly a uniter, instead of somebody who only purports to unite.
Bush has certainly earned the distinction as a divider, and his rhetoric is the evidence.
Having said all that, I am still heartened by his admission. I still think it’s a drop in your cup of STFU, but a drop can sometimes lead to others. If that means more accountability, then that can only be a positive thing.
September 14th, 2005 at 6:58 am
[...] I saw this on the nightly news last night and then this morning read it on Donklephant. Yes, President Bush takes responsibility for the screw-ups after the hurricane Katrina. But you know what, I don’t think the responsibility rests with him (at least, the real responsibility). Sure the Federal Government is his balliwick but it’s not like he is the one ordering all the trucks there, all the National Guard troops to activate, all the MREs to be loaded and so on. [...]
September 14th, 2005 at 6:39 pm
I note that on most sites, and most of the media, no one has mentioned that, while Bush gave a basically “the buck stops here” statement, neither the Governor of Louisiana or the Mayor of NO has stopped to take responsibility for where their respective government agencies failed. Was it their fault directly? Perhaps not entirely, as some are now pointing to the Adjunct General of the state Dept of Homeland Security as the main culprit. However, as leaders of government, they are ultimately the responsible ones for the system’s failure.
As Bush has now pointed out by example.
September 15th, 2005 at 2:49 pm
I admit I am biased, but I am hardly impressed with Bush’s statement. I doubt he actually thinks he’s responsible, and at the point where his ratings have dropped to an all-time low, don’t you think he said that because his advisors were telling him to?
I’m falling right into Paul Brinkley’s prediction, but I can’t give credit where credit is not due.
February 6th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
Lindsay from Reno here. I would like to get the feed for your blog via
email. Is this possible?