March 2nd, 2006 8:38 pm\r\nDesperate to get a manufactured scandal to stick to the administration, liberals are recycling old B-grade issues in hopes of launching a \"do-over\" campaign. Like Hollywood, the liberals have no fresh or creative ideas, so they\'re relegated to remaking old movies.\r\nI just wonder if the Democrats will move to pass legislation renaming the 2006 hurricanes to include a Katrina... you know, so they can still use their pre-printed \"Hurricane Katrina: Bush Hates Blacks\" campaign flyers.\r\nI have to hand it to Mark, who called this latest one. Here\'s his post at B4B at 4:26 this morning:\r\n...and then reading this news story I get even more perplexed over this latest twist in the Katrina story:\r\nLater in the call, White House aide Joe Hagin asks specifically about the condition of the levees. Gov. Kathleen Blanco tells him that no failures were confirmed - yet.\r\n\"We keep getting reports in some places that maybe water is coming over the levees,\" Blanco said. \"I think we have not breached the levee. We have not breached the levee at this point in time. That could change, but in some places we have floodwaters coming in New Orleans East and the line at St. Bernard Parish where we have waters that are 8- to 10-feet deep, and we have people swimming in there, that\'s got a considerable amount of water.\"\r\nHuh? The White House calls and specifically asks about the levees, Governor Blanco says no problem as of yet...and President Bush is at fault for a slow response? What was he supposed to do? Tell the governor that he\'s going to act as if the levees were broken even though the governor - who presumably had better on-the-ground info than the President - just told him that they didn\'t have knowledge of broken levees at that point?\r\nWell wonder no longer, Mark. The AP has now stumbled onto that video and includes more on the timeline:\r\nIn the hectic, confused hours after Hurricane Katrina lashed the Gulf Coast, Louisiana\'s governor hesitantly but mistakenly assured the Bush administration that New Orleans\' protective levees were intact, according to new video obtained by The Associated Press showing briefings that day with federal officials.\r\n\"We keep getting reports in some places that maybe water is coming over the levees,\" Gov. Kathleen Blanco said shortly after noon on Aug. 29, according to the video. \"We heard a report unconfirmed, I think, we have not breached the levee. I think we have not breached the levee at this time.\"\r\nIn fact, the National Weather Service received a report of a levee breach and issued a flash-flood warning as early as 9:12 a.m. that day, according to the White House\'s formal recounting of events the day Katrina struck.\r\nCritics have maintained the Homeland Security Department responded too slowly to the breaches, delaying repair efforts and allowing flooding to worsen. Formal reports of New Orleans\' levee breaches reached the White House by 6 p.m., and the administration confirmed the damage by the next morning, according to the White House\'s recount.\r\nSo a full 3 hours after the first reported breach, Governor Blanco was still assuring the Bush administration that the levees were in tact. Was Bush supposed to recognize her incompetence and immediately send in the troops? Afterall, it was Blanco who made this promise while she was trying to get elected:\r\nWell first we would organize the office of emergency preparedness, a very terrifically professional operation; we would then encourage everyoneï¿1/2wherever we can determine where this hurricane will be landingï¿1/2to begin evacuation processes immediately.\r\nGuess that didn\'t happen.\r\nIn fact, the \"warning\" that the MSM seems to be hyping really wasn\'t a warning at all.\r\nAnd I like how Michael Brown is coming out now showing concern that President Bush was overconfident. I\'m sorry, but if I was placing blame on someone who had relied on me, I wouldn\'t fault him for being \"overconfident\". He is basically admitting that he was totally incompetent and Bush shouldn\'t have counted on him. Doesn\'t really sound like a winning strategy there, \"Brownie\".\r\nAs expected, the Democrats, in conjunction with the AP\'s release yesterday of the initial tapes they\'d had for months, are calling for investigations.\r\nSenate Democratic Leader Harry Reid says tape confirms the Bush administration \"systematically misled the American people\" about what was known before the storm hit.\r\nGee, what an original campaign strategy...\r\nUpdate: No wonder this strategy of digging up old stuff and presenting is as new, bombshell news looked familiar.\r\nUpdate 2: Looks like the Rathergate connection was more than just a coincidence. The AP has clarified its bogus story. At least the AP didn\'t try the \"fake but accurate\" line with this manufactured story.\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nOriginally posted:\r\nhttp://www.texasrainmaker.com/2006/03/02/114135409439809663/\r\n