Let the swiftboating of the National Hurricane Center begin

Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, is going to find out what happens to people who make The Family look bad.

E&P:

Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, told the Times-Picayune Sunday afternoon that officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, including FEMA Director Mike Brown and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, listened in on electronic briefings given by his staff in advance of Hurricane Katrina slamming Louisiana and Mississippi--and were advised of the storm’s potential deadly effects.

"Mayfield said the strength of the storm and the potential disaster it could bring were made clear during both the briefings and in formal advisories, which warned of a storm surge capable of overtopping levees in New Orleans and winds strong enough to blow out windows of high-rise buildings," the paper reported. "He said the briefings included information on expected wind speed, storm surge, rainfall and the potential for tornados to accompany the storm as it came ashore.

"We were briefing them way before landfall," Mayfield said. "It’s not like this was a surprise. We had in the advisories that the levee could be topped."

Chertoff told reporters Saturday that government officials had not expected the damaging combination of a powerful hurricane levee breaches that flooded New Orleans.

Chertoff lied on Saturday. Bush lied earlier when he said that no one anticipated that the levees would break. This isn't bad intelligence. This is lies in the highest corners of government. Lies that killed people.

Yes, folks, I hate to say it, but Bush lied, and people died.

You can fault the state and local officials if you want for mistakes they made in advance of the storm; for not making the evacuation mandatory. How they were supposed to evacuate thousands of people when the public means of egress stopped running on Saturday is anyone's guess, but ok, do it if it makes you feel good and helps you keep your tunnel reality going.

But the FACT remains: This Administration and FEMA knew in advance that this was "THE storm", and still Bush remained on his vacation, no plans were made, and in the aftermath, they ignored the casualties and the turmoil until it became a political liability.

As it is, after they get done with Mayfield, they'll probably go after Shepard Smith.

It's how they operate.

Too bad guys like Smith didn't stay on message. They might have been able to get away with it.

But since they can't, they're doing what they do best: blaming someone else:

Bush is trying to undo what many Republicans described as considerable damage to the White House inflicted by Bush's crisis management. "Almost every Republican I have spoken with is disappointed" in Bush's performance, said William Kristol, a conservative columnist with close White House ties. "He is a strong president . . . but he has never really focused on the importance of good execution. I think that is true in many parts of his presidency."

As president, Bush typically has been loath to admit mistakes, and this situation is no different.

A senior White House aide said there was no reason for Bush to return to Washington to deal with the disaster before Wednesday, though he was told of the gravity of the situation in briefings late into the night on Monday. Bush cut short his working vacation at his ranch near Crawford, Tex., but spent Tuesday night there. The aide said Bush wanted to allow his Cabinet and staff time to get back to Washington and in place to brief him.

Of course he won't admit a mistake. He's a sociopath.

(Hat tip: Americablog)