What can Brown do for you? (Answer: Nothing, but it's not his fault!)

You can take the man out of office, but you can't take the official out of the man, as we learn from ex-FEMA director Michael Brown's testimony before Congress yesterday. Looking back on the Katrina debacle, Brown admitted that a lot of things went wrong--with other people.

According to a
New York Times report, Brown said "I very strongly personally regret that I was unable to persuade Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin to sit down, get over their differences and work together. . .I just couldn't pull that off."

And...

At one point Mr. Brown testified, "My biggest mistake was not recognizing by Saturday that Louisiana was dysfunctional."

Of course, even if Louisiana's shortcomings were the root of the problem, how would he have recognized them if he hadn't recognized that the administration he served was dysfunctional from day one?

Bayou State voters also have to shoulder some of the blame for the crisis: Mr. Brown, in comparing the responses of the various Gulf states, said: "I can't help it that Alabama and Mississippi are governed by Republican governors and that Louisiana is governed by a Democratic governor. That's not an issue with me." He went on to say that "I didn't have a problem with evacuations in Mississippi or Alabama," adding, "They were doing it."

Guess it's never too early to start campaigning for a new job, eh Brownie?

Seriously--is there ever a time to set aside poltical gamesmanship for the sake of a little honest inquiry ? Can wielders of influence in America --in any sector and of any political bent--ever suffer to look at themselves and the facts candidly? I seriously doubt we'll make progress on problems like poverty, the environment, terrorism, education, or disaster response until something reverses this tide of delusional bureaucratic narcissism.