1115.org

It’s only been a year since Hurricane Katrina nearly destroyed New Orleans and much of the surrounding Gulf Coast, an anniversary that no one is particularly looking forward to—except perhaps the media, who are frantically stitching together montages of people stranded on rooftops and hunkered-down like refugees in the Superdome.

The post-Katrina situation really can’t be described as anything but a colossal mess, complete with inconceivable destruction, incompetent officials, massive corruption, floating corpses, empty trailers and promises…lots and lots of promises. As the anniversary approaches, there is one question that is inescapable: Are those promises being kept?

For obvious reasons, the Bush Administration needs to point to all the progress that has been made and all the milestones that have been met, because otherwise the media interest in Katrina’s anniversary will run them over like a truck. It’s bad enough to be caught in a cycle of incompetence and finger-pointing during a massive tragedy; it’s worse when people get the impression that no one is on top of the situation a year later.

What’s the Big Easy equivalent of all those freshly-painted Iraqi schools? How about a “spontaneous” photo-op with displaced New Orleans resident Rockey Vaccarella, who wanted to thank the President for all his help?

MR. VACCARELLA: It is. You know, it’s really amazing when a small man like me from St. Bernard Parish can meet the President of the United States. The President is a people person. I knew that from the beginning. I was confident that I could meet President Bush.

And my mission was very simple. I wanted to thank President Bush for the millions of FEMA trailers that were brought down there. They gave roofs over people’s head. People had the chance to have baths, air condition. We have TV, we have toiletry, we have things that are necessities that we can live upon.

But now, I wanted to remind the President that the job’s not done, and he knows that. And I just don’t want the government and President Bush to forget about us. And I just wish the President could have another term in Washington.

THE PRESIDENT: Wait a minute. (Laughter.)

MR. VACCARELLA: You know, I wish you had another four years, man. If we had this President for another four years, I think we’d be great. But we’re going to move on.

Yes, this doesn’t seem staged at all, and the fact that Vaccarella has a history as a Republican candidate for office means absolutely nothing. As everyone knows, the President is such a “people person” that anyone can meet with him and speak their mind on the issues of the day. Just ask all the other displaced people of Katrina who are waiting in the wings for their Rose Garden photo-op. Or Cindy Sheehan.

Expect more of this sort of thing in the next couple of weeks, since the alternative looks a little like this:

The job of clearing debris left by the storm remains unfinished, and has been plagued by accusations of fraud and price gouging. Tens of thousands of families still live in trailers or mobile homes, with no indication of when or how they will be able to obtain permanent housing. Important decisions about rebuilding and improving flood defenses have been delayed. And little if anything has been done to ensure the welfare of the poor in a rebuilt New Orleans.

(…)

A June report by the Government Accountability Office concluded that FEMA wasted between $600 million and $1.4 billion on “improper and potentially fraudulent individual assistance payments.”

(…)

So far the government has spent $3.6 billion, a figure that might have been considerably smaller had the contracts for debris removal been subject to competitive bidding.

Working through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, FEMA gave each of four companies contracts worth up to $500 million to clear hurricane debris. This spring government inspectors reported that the companies…charged the government as much as four to six times what they paid their subcontractors who actually did the work.

It’s no surprise that the White House is planning a PR offensive to counteract such depressing stuff, complete with the President visiting New Orleans next week to talk about all the progress that has been made. Of course, it’s easier to point to progress when you concentrate on touristy parts of New Orleans that weren’t underwater to begin with:

Leaders of the recovery effort said Tuesday that although progress had been slow in some areas, Bush would be able to point to successes in some New Orleans neighborhoods, including the famed French Quarter and the Garden District. However, neither area was damaged as severely as the Lower 9th Ward. The question for White House schedulers is how much to accentuate the positives while acknowledging the negatives.

As part of his cross-country photography trip, Matt arrived in New Orleans yesterday. Here’s what he had to say after seeing some of the damage first-hand:

“It’s just unbelievable. If you had told me that the hurricane hit three weeks ago instead of a year ago, I wouldn’t have argued. Things are still that bad.”