On Vacation

Recently I wrote about how I would not go to Italy in August because this is the month when most of the country goes on vacation. Well as I read about the blame game that’s going on over the sad response in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I find that part of the problem was that most everyone in government in Washington was away on vacation and whoever they left in charge was there but working in vacation mode.

I’m not begrudging people taking a vacation, but one should plan a little better and make sure that they leave someone of competence in charge.  What would happen if your whole family went on vacation and left the house unlocked and unattended? If you’re lucky, nothing will happen, but aren’t you leaving yourself wide open for someone to come in and clean you out of you prized material possessions?

Material goods can be replaced, but how do you replace a life?

The Washington Post recently reported: One reason for the slow White House response, said a Republican who has been in contact with several officials, is that so many high-level officials and aides were on vacation. Why are both the President and Vice-President on vacation at the same time? Where the hell has Cheney been since the elections? It seems that they bring him out of the closet and prop him up like the scarecrow that some people put out each Halloween.

The same article tells us: The White House is moving on several fronts to repair Bush's image and streamline its response effort. You see it’s just like the nursery rhyme where Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall. Now all of the ding-a-lings are trying to put Humpty Dumpty back again. What a bunch of dummies! Focus on putting the devastated Gulf Coast region back together, not your boss. It’s going to take more time to put your bosses’ image back together than it’s going to take in straightening out the mess in the Gulf.

So the White House is on ‘image damage control’ mode. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in some of those meeting rooms, wouldn’t you? I’d love to see those ’kiss ass manly men’ scrambling to come up with ways to make Bush look like Winston Churchill. Bush you should have hired Giuliani, he would have saved your face in moments like these. Yet you chose to dump all the dead-weight people from your political machine into FEMA. You know you should have had more sense than putting a former driver for your brother Jeb, in charge of FEMA – he performed accordingly.

Yesterday’s New York Times details the Rove-Bartlett plan for damage control. Never accept responsibility and always shift the blame is the theme that this administration has excelled at. I’ve never seen more flip-flopping since Sen. Kerry’s presidential campaign. And by the way where the hell is Sen. Kerry? Answer – On Vacation. Only they call it on recess just like when Bill O’Reilly is not on the radio, the replacement host always says that Bill is on assignment. That’s because he’s always looking out for you, America.

As I said at the beginning about avoiding visiting Italy in August, based on the performance that’s been unfolding in front of our eyes, I will put this country on the same do not visit list in August. I just hope that Al-Qaeda is not paying attention and that they too vacation in August.