Are We Safe?

Remember when we dared to ask "Are we safer?" and now the question has been downgraded to "are we safe?" Andrew Sullivan doesn't think so and neither do I.

The basic security of the country is the bottom line for me, too. And I suspect it was for many of the Bush/Cheney voters last November. It was, after all, what Bush's campaign was based upon - "Vote for us because we can protect you" - and he just demonstrated inexcusable incompetence in the area that is supposed to be his strong suit. Inexcusable because Americans DIED due to this incompetence. Even if the locals and the state did everything you could reasonably expect of them (and clearly they didn't) you still need the cavalry to swiftly ride in to handle the biggest disaster since at least 1906.

What has this administration been doing for the past four years? The excuses about being too focused on responding to terrorism don't cut it, because obviously you need the cavalry after a terror attack, too. That's the scary-as-hell part of all this. The cronyism at FEMA (FEMA, for God's sake) is a sick joke. And frankly, I'm stunned that not a single prominent Democrat has called for Bush's resignation. Apparently, the Democrats are just too cowed by their electoral losses, but it's still stunning. Not that Bush would actually resign, of course, but calling for his resignation would force Republicans up and down the line into the unenviable position of defending this indefensible incompetence. How long do you suppose the GOP would have waited to call for President Kerry's resignation?