Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, discussing the federal response to Hurricane Katrina on national television, offered a defense that was almost certainly a lie—and if true suggests gross incompetence.
Let's review. During a lengthy back-and-forth with Tim Russert on the Sept. 4 edition of NBC's Meet the Press, there was this exchange:
RUSSERT: There's a CD which is in your department and the White House has it and the president, and you are saying, "We were surprised that the levees may not hold." How could this be?
CHERTOFF: No, Tim, I have to tell you, that's not what I said. You have to listen to what I said. What I said was not that we didn't anticipate that there's a possibility the levees will break. What I said is in this storm, what happened is the storm passed and passed without the levees breaking on Monday. Tuesday morning, I opened newspapers and saw headlines that said "New Orleans Dodged The Bullet," which surprised people.
There are two major problems with Chertoff's response, a variation of which he offered on CNN later in the day:
First, are we to believe that the person in charge of managing the federal response to Katrina got his information from newspaper headlines? Are we to believe that Chertoff was not in contact with FEMA Director Michael Brown, or emergency personnel on the ground in New Orleans, at some point late Monday night or early Tuesday morning?
The levees broke last Monday night, and by 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, CNN was reporting that a two-block breach had occurred in the 17th Street Canal. If you were watching CNN at the time, you'll recall that the anchor was interviewing a hospital director who was describing water rising by one foot every five minutes. The phone interview was repeated throughout the night.
So are we to believe that no one contacted Chertoff at, say, 2 a.m. or 3 a.m., to inform him that the levee had breached and the city was rapidly flooding? Are we to believe no one said, "Michael, turn on CNN"? Are we to believe that the Homeland Security Secretary actually got his news the following morning from newspaper headlines?
It's unfathomable. Chertoff's response to Russert should have been "Tuesday morning, I opened newspapers and saw headlines that said "New Orleans Dodged The Bullet," which surprised me, because I knew the headline was dead wrong."
And that brings us to the second thing that is wrong with his statement.
The amazing thing about the Internet is that you can check things like a headline. One question the media had following Chertoff's interview with Russert was "Which newspaper?" No one could figure it out.
The reason? Well, consider that Newseum has 477 archived front pages from Aug. 30—and none of them have anything close to "New Orleans Dodged The Bullet."
I gave Chertoff the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he read the headline on-line. Or maybe he, like the president, gets a daily briefing gathered by a staffer, which would include print-outs from the Internet of stories around the country.
Article comments
1 - Bennett
Great job researching this post, Mark.
Once you peel away the outer layers of the onion, the eyes begin to weep a bit, eh?
Damn, I hate to be lied to by these bastards. On a daily basis it seems.
2 - Georgio
I believe if it wasn't for CNN the government would not have known anything..maybe they should hire CNN to advise them when there are catastrophes
3 - Dave Nalle
Not if it's a tasty Texas 1015 Onion, Bennett.
Dave
4 - Temple Stark
>>First, are we to believe that the person in charge of managing the federal response to Katrina got his information from newspaper headlines?
I'm sorry, but that's EXACTLY what I've been thinking. since I heard that.
Newspaper headlines are good - but they reflect (or are supposed to reflect if you prefer) what people and experts are telling the reporters.
done. Temple
5 - David R. Mark
If in fact there was a plethora of headlines with the same theme, this would make sense. But go check out Newseum -- there's nothing close to this, let alone any kind of consensus.
6 - Liberal
Well, you are talking about a guy who apparently thinks Lousiana is a city. What can you expect from the Party that believes that trees cause air pollution?
7 - Dave Nalle
You know, I find it endlessly fascinating how Republicans can never make a misstatement or a mistake which they might later correct or reconsider. They can only lie or be incompetent.
It must be comforting to live in a simplistic world of all black and all white. Fashionable too.
Dave
8 - ukexpat
Same old story -- if you repeat a lie enough times, people believe it's true...
9 - David R. Mark
Dave -- they haven't corrected themselves on this. In fact, as stated in the article, they have repeated the lie several times. Rumsfeld repeated it on Tuesday on Sean Hannity's show.
But hey, why let little facts get in the way of empty charges that you can't back up with anything other than your own opinion?
10 - Liberal
Hey Dave,
Can you say, "subliminable"? How about "Nukular"? Will we be putting food on the families of the victims? Do you think, after this hurricane, that human beings and fish can coexist peacefully? Do you think we will have the same peaceful relationship with Japan that we've had for the last century? How about those Harkin "tragsactions"? And that Iraq "intelligy" - still "darn good intelligy"?
Morons are morons, whatever their political philosophy.
11 - Dave Nalle
Liberal, you're axing me too many questions which are none of your bidness.
Dave
12 - Jewels
Chertoff's a pasty faced weasel. At least Michael Brown's been sent back to the barn.
13 - Scott
That's Grenada, as in a small town in north central Mississippi, not the island med school.
14 - Nancy
I didn't pick up on it being a different Grenada, because I knew we had already invaded & annexed it years ago. ;) The island, that is. Dave - LOL! Funny response.