Jindal Asked Bush to Appoint Colin Powell or Jack Welch to Run Katrina Effort

1 year ago

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I'm reading "Leadership And Crisis," by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

One of the most poignant parts of the book deals with Hurricane Katrina, and then-Congressman Jindal's frustration with how bureaucracy prevented common-sense efforts to save lives.

For example, when bureaucrats overruled a local sheriff's decision to allow volunteers to go out in boats to help rescue people (rescuers couldn't go without "proof of insurance and registration for their boats"), Jindal says the sheriff responded by saying: "This is Sheriff Harry Lee. You can come arrest me, and Congressman Jindal's here -- you can come arrest him, too."

One piece of new information (at least, it was new to me) was that Jindal:

"... suggested that [President George W. Bush] consider appointing General Colin Powell, [former G.E. CEO] Jack Welch, or someone of similar skills and prominence with the authority to cut through the red tape, someone without political aspirations who had a record of getting things done. It was clear that many of the people involved were far too concerned with covering their own rear and looking good on TV. President Bush said he'd consider it, but he's known for being a very loyal man, and he seemed reluctant to second guess the people he'd put in charge. Loyalty is rare in politics and is usually a great asset -- but in this case, it did not serve us well."

Filed Under: Bush Administration, Republicans, Conservatives, Matt Lewis and the News

Tagged: bobby jindal, Colin Powell, george w. bush

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franplatt

Jack Welch? The guy who spent untold millions fighting having to clean up his company's toxic PCB mess in the Hudson River? Oh yeah, he would've been a brilliant choice to put in charge of the aftermath of a large-scale disaster. If that's an example of Bobby Jindal's 'good judgment,' then Louisiana voters will need to keep a very close eye indeed on his future decisionmaking.

November 14 2010 at 11:25 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

PatriotPaul

Great points, Matt and good advice, Bobby, but what threw me was that In his book, Bush claims that the worst moment of his Administration was being called a racist by Kanye West, after Katrina. Wow, for a supposed leader to consider what this one hot-tempered individual THINKS or SAYS about him to be the worst part of his Administration tells volumes. Really, this is worse than the fact that his decisions (Iraq, Katrina) led to the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians is not much worse proves that this guy was far from the "Compassionate Conservative" he marketed himself as. Paul Harris Author, “Diary From the Dome, Reflections on Fear and Privilege During Katrina"

November 14 2010 at 11:04 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

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