I am reading all the stories of looting, lack of food and water, and those people holed up in the Superdome and all I can think is, where is the national guard, where is the response? I thought, what would Clinton have done in this situation? What would have been Clinton's response.
Well, if hurricane Floyd is any indication, he would not only have done a alot, he would have started BEFORE THE HURRICANE EVEN MADE LANDFALL!
In researching his response to hurricane Floyd, I found this.
Fact sheet on hurricane Floyd
Pre-Landfall: Approximately 115 DoD personnel were engaged in pre-landfall response operations with liaison teams at state emergency operations centers in FL, GA, SC and NC.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) provided prime power teams and technical assistance to ensure FEMA generators were operational. Pre-scripted contracts for ice and water were activated and numerous USACE planning teams were deployed to Federal and state emergency operations centers.
Approximately 3,439 Army and Air National Guard troops were activated under state control for State Active Duty. They assisted in providing traffic control for the largest peacetime evacuations many of these states have ever seen. They provided security, transportation, and aviation assets, medical support, and emergency power and communications in each of their states.
The DoD Director of Military Support (DOMS) established a 24-hour Crisis Response Center at the Pentagon in support of FEMA as the Lead Federal Agency. DOMS established contact with all potential DoD response organizations, coordinating requests for DOD assistance.
"The cooperation and trust among federal, state and local officials was as high as I've ever seen."
What is it with Bush and disasters?
[Update] 11:17PM CST
Oh boy, seems to run in the family! Bush I seems to had a little response problem during hurricane Andrew! Bush Sees Katrina Damage on Way to Capital Ref to Bush I is at about 1:20 into the program...