Today is a New Day
Below is a speech I’ve drafted for President Bush.
My Fellow Americans,
As President Henry Truman said, “The buck stops here.”
Today is a new day. I take personal responsibility for the mistakes and misjudgments that the Federal government made which contributed to the pain and suffering of thousands of victims and allowed a breakdown of law and order.
In this time of crisis, you deserve the best from your government. What we have done so resolve the post-Katrina nightmare is not adequate.
However, we honor the efforts of those who helped the victims and prevented an even worse disaster. America thanks deeply the countless brave, dedicated volunteers, as well as local, state and federal employees who risked their lives to assist the victims.
We acknowledge the significant progress made so far. Hundreds of thousands of residents have been evacuated from New Orleans and the many other devastated cities and towns destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Some of brave early responders gave their lives helping others. Our hearts and prayers go out to their families. America thanks you.
But our hearts are also heavy. Far too many innocent victims of this storm have died, been injured, or are suffering form disease. America is a great country, a caring country, a rich and powerful country. Yet we have seen horrific problems which resulted in thousands of people waiting days for relief.
Survivors report brutal, sub-human conditions were allowed to occur in the New Orleans Superdome. This hellish nightmare did not happen for a couple of peak hours, it lasted for days. I am ashamed that in America we first gathered Katrina victims so they could be rescued then yet allowed innocent babies and weak elderly citizens to die.
We should all be deeply ashamed that bad judgment and lack of decisive action by government officials at all levels caused what became hell on earth. Law and order broke down. A few evil people brutalized others. Rape and murder occurred. That’s not good enough. We must understand what went wrong, and never allow it to happen again.
America is far better than what happened after Katrina struck. Our handling of this terrible natural disaster shows we are not prepared to react swiftly and effectively when a disaster occurs. That is not OK. As your President and Commander in Chief, starting today, there will be some changes made.
We can not change or undo the mistakes of the past. But starting today your federal government has set a new course. Vice Admiral Thad Allen now leads the charge to recover from Katrina. He has my total support as he manages the entire federal government response to Katrina. I also thank Genera Russell Honore who led the National Guard into New Orleans and has turned things around.
Today is a new day. We will move swiftly and decisively to house the hundreds of thousands of Katrina victims. The challenge is enormous. There are kids who must be in school this week. We will act to help the schools make room so the education of our young people is not interrupted. Hospitals will need special relief, as will programs to rebuild critical infrastructure such as roads and bridges.
In the next week I will appoint an independent, non-partisan Katrina Commission. I will direct them to present an initial report 90 days after their first meeting. I expect another report in six months, and a final published report no later than one year from today.
We must and we will learn from our mistakes. We are all aware that terrorists will in the future attempt to cause man made disasters as they did on September 11, 2001 [corrected, was 2002 in vfisrt version]. We recovered from the 9/11 nightmare and moved on. America will recover from Katrina and learn from our mistakes. We will become smarter and stronger. These lives lost must not be lost in vain. I pledge that we will honor the dead by making changes that will prevent there very being another Superdome fiasco.
Today is a new day. I ask your support and your prayers. Join me as we work together to recover from the worst disaster in America’s history.
Please join me now in a minute of silence as we honor those who lost their live in the Katrina disaster.
[Silence]
Today is a new day. God Bless you all, and God bless the United States of America. Thank you.