Why don't you include the governor and mayor?

Unless you live in New Orleans -- which you don't -- you don't get to vote on the Governor and Mayor.

This was a question about the '08 Presidential race, not Bush's ongoing failings.

Fine, lw.

Would you rather have Ted who has his problems but has actually served in 3 branches of government?

Or would you rather have Ron "it is time for a change so it doesn't matter that I never talk specifics and my only government experience is school board" Saxton.

I think Gov. Blanco of Louisina handled Katrina better than Saxton would have handled a natural disaster.

Look at it this way: Gulliani made mistakes. He has been criticized for putting the emergency command post that close to a bldg (World Trade Center) which has been bombed in 1993. But he did a superhuman job in the days right after 9/11. And it was interesting in his book that he had a chapter titled "weddings are optional, funerals are mandatory". How many funerals did that man attend? That alone deserves respect.

I just can't imagine Ron Saxton having that much gumption--he'd have to be respectful, say something to try to make people feel better (not worse) and not make any snide remarks about unions or about people who disagree with him. My sense of Saxton is that he's more concerned that emergency planners have 401k retirement instead of PERS and why would anyone in government want to join a union? rather than the sort of emergency drills and procedures Gulliani had in place before Sept. of 2001.

Thank back to the Spring Break Quake (over a decade ago) or farther back to the eruption of Mt. St. Helens.

My sense is that the current Gov. and the current Mayor of Portland (who have the military/ law enforcement training many in government don't have) would have more of a sense of emergency preparedness than most small town mayors or Saxton the school board member. When he was on the school board, did the board adopt emergency preparedness procedures, or wasn't that important?

And I seem to recall that awhile back a chunk of coastal highway just slid (not to mention those Hwy 35 closures due to fire this summer). Nothing in there about public retirement or the need to have better priorities. A problem has to be solved. What concrete problems has Saxton solved? Or is he all rhetoric?

I seem to recall reading a history of decades ago when there was a really dry fall and the Gov. had to cancel hunting season because the forests were tinder dry. The history suggested some hunters were so angry they voted for the Gov. challenger that year.

Certainly sounds more intelligent than Saxton saying "can't think of any of Ted's accomplishments? vote for change--vote for me".

People who run that kind of campaign don't seem to realize that if they were asked "In case of a natural or man-made disaster, what would be your first 3 actions?", they would have to answer 3 specific items. "What my opponent has done wrong is..." would not be a responsive answer, no matter what campaign consultants might believe.

two qualities -- empathy to understand the depths of the crisis, and experience "running things"...

Exactly. It's a test of both competence and compassion -- and real compassion, not just phony, poll-tested Bush-like sloganeering.

I've been thinking about it some today, and while I still want to learn more about other candidates, I think Edwards would arguably be the strongest. I think he would best connect with victims, coordinate an effective response, and understand and address the deeper issues of poverty and fairness the storm exposed.

Gore's my personal favorite (if he runs), and think he would excel at the technical and policy side, but the ability to connect with people during something like this, I honestly don't know.

Good comments, Kari and JB!

I am disappointed with Gore having supported him in 1988 and watched him ever since then. He seems to give better speeches when not running for president than when he is. He might make a better Cabinet official than a president. He seems to slow on the uptake--not energetic like Edwards.

I like what I have seen of Edwards. He has the modest upbringing and knows what people (like those on the Gulf Coast) are going through without an advisor having to tell him.

Mainstream Media Watch: Has anyone else noticed how many times national figures say "But Lieberman was the VP nominee in 2000!" but don't speak of Edwards as "John Edwards, the 2004 VP nominee, said today..."? Maybe they are all enthralled with the (rather silly notion)of Hillary (not Sen. Clinton, but Hillary) that before the 2006 elections they already know she is the "frontrunner" for 2008 and the only thing that can stop her is the "anti-Hillary candidate".

Lots of other things can stop her, starting with making no better a showing in the 2008 race than Pat Schroder or Elizabeth Dole (both better known in their own right longer than the former First Lady) made when they ran.

Just like Al Haig thought he could run for president until ordinary Iowans started asking questions he didn't expect of the "We saw you and C-SPAN and want you to explain your statement that..." variety. Not to mention that scene in the press room when Reagan was shot--he thought he could re-write the presidential succession order?

Come to think of it, add grace under fire and appropriate humor to the list of qualities. Reagan's "forgot to duck" comment as he was being wheeled into the operating room impressed people who may never have voted for him. Here was someone who could think well enough under stress to make such a quip. That takes a strong personality.

Winston Wolfe - because he's competent, effective, and knows how to clean up real good.

Besides, WolfePac would be a great name for a Political Action Committee.

This question deserves a sarcastic answer. It barely rises above the beer buddy question in terms of legitimate criteria for choosing a president.

How about a president with the ability to choose a competent FEMA Director?

The best of the lot is Russ Feingold......although he's unelectable in this country at this point in history.

Bill Richardson and Rudy Giulani

Few on this site would disagree that Bush's handling of Katrina was a disaster, but looking forward, which candidate eyeing '08 do you think would best lead the country in a similar disaster? Why?

The answer is obvious: Ray Nagin, Jr. and/or Kathleen Babineaux Blanco for their heroic and fantastic job in protecting, saving, and now restoring New Orleans and South Louisiana into pre-Katrina condition with the Billion$ of federal tax dollars Bush the Bungler and Congress has given them.

• Wes

Damn right Bush is a bungler, and speaking of federal funds, where's the money FEMA promised for Oregon's share of Katrina assistance?

empathy to understand the depths of the crisis, and experience "running things" to manage the logistics of the crisis

There is only one person who has ALL the qualifications, General Wesley K. Clark.

Empathy- During the Rwanda genocide, Clark was in the Pentagon asking "where's the plan?"

It was a chaos he had a chance to observe and experience firsthand. In 1994, he got a job as J-5 at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a job that put him in charge of strategic planning—writing war plans—for the Army. "On the third day that I was in the office, the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi were killed. Three days later, on a Friday evening, [I was told], ‘There has been an invasion of Rwanda. There was fighting in the streets of Kigali.' I said, ‘Get me a map.' And so the guys produced a map, and people ran around in my office and said, ‘Sir, there is a tribal conflict. There are these two groups. It's the Hutus and the Tutsis. No, wait a minute, let me go check that. It may be the Tutus and the Hutsis. . . .' The next morning, on Saturday morning, I went to a meeting with Secretary of Defense William Perry in his office. We were preparing for a trip to Korea. There was a little bit of urgency in that because it turned out that we were on the brink of going to war with North Korea. It seemed like they had a couple of atomic weapons, or might have them, and the president had said that wouldn't be permitted on the Korean Peninsula. . . . On Monday—this is actually my seventh day in the job as J-5—a guy came into my office, he tugged on my sleeve, and he said, ‘Sir, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but I want you to know that there's a secret war plan being developed for Haiti.' I said, ‘We're going to invade Haiti?' " The United States invaded Haiti. The United States, however, wouldn't invade Rwanda, although Clark pushed his mentor, General John Shalikashvili, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, to push for an intervention. Shalikashvili declined after Clark told him twenty thousand troops would be required, and as Clark says now, "I watched as we stood by as eight hundred thousand people were hacked to death by machete." Esquire magazine August 2003

There was no plan and he never forgot it. When members of the Dayton Peace Accord team were killed on the Mount Ingram road, he went down the side of the cliff, under fire by the way, to try and rescue them. They were all dead by the time he got there. One of the most touching things he did was bring the wedding ring of one of the victims back to his widow.

During a town hall meeting in NH, a women veteran brought up the effects of sexual harrassment in the military and that she had been a victim. Clark apologized to her explaining that since he was part of the leadership it was his failure too. He met with her after the meeting to try and get her help.

Experience- Here's his bio NAME: Wesley Kanne Clark.

AGE-BIRTH DATE: 58, Dec. 23, 1944, Chicago.

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree, West Point, 1966; Oxford, masters in philosophy, politics and economics, 1968; U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, masters in military science, 1975.

EXPERIENCE: Infantry officer and company commander, Vietnam, 1969-70; social science instructor and assistant professor, West Point, 1971-74; White House fellow, Office of Management and Budget, 1975-76; Army operations officer in Europe, 1976-78; assistant executive officer to the Supreme Allied Commander, Brussels, 1978-79; battalion commander, Fort Carson, Colo., 1980-82; chief of Army studies group, office of the chief of staff, 1983-84; commander at the National Training Center and 4th Infantry Division, 1984-88; director, battle command training program, 1988-89; commanding general, National Training Center, 1989-91; deputy chief of staff at U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, 1991-92; commanding general, 1st Cavalry Division, Ford Hood, Texas, 1992-94; director for strategic plans and policy, Joint Staff, 1994-96; commander, Southern Command, 1996-97; Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, 1997-2000; managing director of the brokerage firm Stephens Group Inc. in Little Rock, Ark., 2000-2002; military analyst, CNN, 2002; chairman and CEO, Wesley K. Clark & Associates, 2002-present.

FAMILY: Wife, Gertrude; son Wesley.

QUOTE: "I'm concerned about the direction of the country. The policies need serious work. I just don't see the strategy. I just don't see the vision."

"You will determine whether rage or reason guides the United States in the struggle to come. You will choose whether we are known for revenge or compassion. You will choose whether we, too, will kill in the name of God, or whether in His name, we can find a higher civilization and a better means of settling our differences." - Wes Clark (Seton Hall Graduation Speech, May 13, 2002)

"but looking forward, which candidate eyeing '08 do you think would best lead the country in a similar disaster? Why?"

Former Maine Senator George J. Mitchell. One word, 'Ireland'.

Wes Clark, hands down. I had actually registered as a Democrat in California simply for the sake of voting for Clark in the primary. Of course, people in states that went to Bush picked John Kerry before any of us on the West Coast had any say in the matter. Tragic. Clark has the national security credentials to avoid being portrayed as weak on defense. He also has the ability to appeal to moderate Republicans (like myself) who would never vote for Hillary Clinton or John Kerry. My second choice would be Rudy Guiliani, though I think he's too socially liberal to make it through a GOP primary. But he demonstrated tremendous leadership in New York before and after Sept. 11. Ray Nagin could have learned a lot from his example, but chose not to.

Which candidate eyeing '08 do you think would best lead the country in a similar disaster? Why?

Anyone would do better. Unfortunately, that means both Democrats and Republicants.

Kari-

I was referring more to Iowa, South Carolina, etc.

Notice that no one has mentioned Hillary Clinton! Do you think that's because people believe she's not the right leader for this specific situation, or because they don't support her as Democratic nominee in general?

I'd give my nod to John Edwards for empathy and Wesley Clark for logistics and planning.

Some great comments here. Wes Clark was a pretty glaring omission on my earlier comment -- you could make a strong case that he's the best suited to oversee the logistics and execution of a response.

And I think Gore wouldn't necessarily be unable to connect to real people, a larger question really is how the media filter covers and/or undermines him. Seems like they've made peace with the guy (mostly).

James is right to point out how Hillary isn't really the first name to jump off your lips. I don't think that's because of her politics necessarily, but more a vague sense that's she's not up to this level of leadership. For what it's worth, I think she's a born legislator but not ready to lead during something like this.

No one thought Rudy Guilini was good for anything aside from cleaning up Time Square for a long, long time.

But much of preparing for the unexpected is the unflashy stuff of logistics, planning, and drills.

Still, even without a disaster, it is possible to look at who has done the planning, thought through the alternatives, gotten involved in the logistics.

That is why I like John Edwards and Wes Clark. And most sitting governors have had some sort of experience with this sort of thing.

I think I should point out tht most anyone posting on this blog could have done a better job than the Bushies. While you were all watching it unfold, what were your ideas of getting help into the affected areas? NOLA was just one area hit. As I saw the picture of the other coastal areas, I noticed that most of the beaches were clear, that the storm had pushed everything inland several 100 yards. All I could think about was the siege of Khe Sanh and its resupply by C-130s. They would use the Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System (LAPES)as a method for getting supllies and ammo into the base.,

With LAPES, up to 38,000 pounds of cargo is pulled from the aircraft by large, inflated cargo parachutes while the aircraft is five to 10 feet above the ground. The load then slides to a stop within a very short distance. Efforts are underway to increase the maximum load weights for LAPES aerial delivery to 42,000 pounds.

So I kept thinking this is the way. The beaches and the highways are perfect for LAPES. Drop in ground crews by helicopter, send in the C-130s with equipment, vehicles, food and water. I was not alone in my thinking. I received this email from one of the founding members of VFP chapter 72 (reorganized) who has since moved to Florida.

From: Name removed Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2005 6:17 AM Subject: Keesler AFB Runways Open - But No Airlift??? Dear Tax-Paying Veterans-- For 25 years, I was of the belief that my USAF uniform was worn for the people who were paying me - Mr and Mrs American taxpayer. Just as you did, I watched in horror, day after day, the tax-paying citizens of New Orleans, Biloxi, Gulfport and communities in between, begging for any help they could get. BEGGING FOR THEIR LIVES. Keesler AFB was in Katrina's bullseye, taking a major hit - EXCEPT FOR THE RUNWAY. Check out the Keesler report below. * So all last week I am having flashbacks of my time in the USAF blue uniform. Between wars, I was in command and control units in the Air National Guard. MOBILITY was my middle name. Every year we practiced instant mobilizations, where we had to deploy our radar site in Air Force aircraft - get this - IN 2 DAYS from the time of notification. Before and after Desert Storm, I was in an Air Force Reserve search and rescue unit in Portland, Oregon. MOBILITY was my middle name. This was a full time mission assigned to the Air Force Reserve. Our helicopter and C-130 crews deployed on A MOMENT'S NOTICE to pluck people off mountains, out of swollen rivers, out of the forests - some injured, some not, some dead. Lives were risked to go into the blast zone to save people from the errupting Mt. St. Helens. We flew para-rescuers to Homestead, FL to save victims of Hurricane Andrew. We flew rescuers to San Francisco after the killer earthquakes in Oakland. None of these people had to asked to be saved. THIS WAS OUR JOB. We mobilized on A MOMENT'S NOTICE. That was the name of our unit's newspaper. I was the PAO that produced it and worked with the media who covered the courageous deeds of my colleagues. I spent my last 6 years working full time for the USAFR in California airlift units. MOBILITY was my middle name. The aircraft in my units flew HUMANITARIAN AIRLIFT missions. We flew water purifications systems and medical help to refugees in Rwanda. We flew water delivery systems and medical help to the refugees in Somalia. We flew canine search teams to Oklahoma City after the bombings. We airlifted and air-dropped food and supplies to North Dakota after a killer blizzard. MOBILITY was our game, and when we took off, you can be sure that help was on the way. SHOCK and AWE describes me now. I am in total SHOCK over how our Gulf Coast neighbors - TAX-PAYERS who pay for our military forces -- were left to suffer and die, day after day. What happened to MOBILITY???? What happened to HUMANITARIAN AIRLIFT???? Then there's AWE - as in "awe shit" after I received the Keesler AFB damage report from a group of former USAF radar operators and ground controllers. I went to tech school at Keesler in 1972 at the height of the Cambodian bombing raids, to be trained to tell fighter pilots where to go in the war zone. But the "awe-shit" reaction was not because of flashbacks to that other war. It was in knowing that RESCUE and MOBILITY and HUMANITARIAN AIRLIFT into and out of Keesler AFB was possible before and after Katrina. These assets could have been staged somewhere nearby, gee - like at Scott AFB in Illinois - HEADQUARTERS FOR THE USAF'S AIR MOBILITY COMMAND - and then flown in to Keesler. There could have been a MASS EVAC out of Keesler after the 'cane. The Air Force practices these every day, all over the world. Brothers and Sisters - I am too emotional to write to the folks at the Air Mobility Command or anywhere else. But I have included the string of addresses from those who were sending around the Keesler Damage Report. I urge you to write to them, to your congressional leaders, to anyone that could make a difference. Ask them what the hell they spent our Gulf Coast neighbor's tax dollars on, because we know it sure wasn't them. And tell them I sent you. Name removed, Major, USAFR, retired Vietnam, Desert Storm, Cold War VFP Chapter 119 - Tampa Bay Mom, citizen, tax-payer From: Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2005 10:42 AM To: Subject: Keesler AFB Meets Katrina Folks, Here's what has happened to our own USAF brethren at Keesler AFB, Gulfport MS: - Base housing was largely destroyed by a 25 foot wave - There's 4 feet of mud in Maj Gen Utterback's house (2 AF/CC) - MSG/CC house burned to the ground (gas leak caught fire) - 6000 USAF members and their families are living in shelters - The power will be out there for at least 3 weeks - The 2nd largest USAF hospital (at Keesler) is closed -- Seawater got into the generator and they have no power - Commissary/BX mostly destroyed - Runway is operational; it's the only open airfield in the area -- Day/VFR conditions only - Gulfport Airport is closed for the foreseeable future - The fence around the base is severely damaged - Keesler had looters last night -- Maxwell AFB is sending an SF detachment to reinforce the Keesler SF - Parts of I-10 are under water; at least one major bridge is down - Keesler has almost no communications (landline or cell) -- They are relying primarily on radios This is a tragedy with a capital T v/r /SIGNED/ name removed

Impeach the bastard.

I saw Al Gore on 20/20 last night and really like what he has done to help educate people on global warming and the environment. I think he would make an excellent president. Unfortunately, many see him as an environmentalist wacko and wouldn't vote for him. So if he doesn't run, my other choice is Biden. Really impressed with what Biden had to say when he was on Real Time with Bill Mahrer. Most presidential hopefuls don't have the guts to go on that show. For instance, don't think we'll ever see Hilary on the guest panel. She might tick off the Republican moderates she is hoping to woo in 2008.

L. Neil Smith is the only sane choice; for, if folks persist in living in the path of certain disaster, they should at least get someone who will tell them, in no uncertain terms, it's their own choice, and won't pretend to have a plan to protect them.

With the oil revenues Louisiana has reaped, there certainly is no reason why they could not have their own Cat 5 seawall. Their risk, their benefit, their cost.

I don't expect them to buy my snow tires, my ice scraper and my parkas, and certainly don't expect them to bail me out when half of downtown Portland dissolves in the next Richter Scale 8 quake. My risk, my burden to prepare for it.

Which I have... after I assessed the relative risks and moved here from the Gulf Coast where ah grew up with mah folks an' kin. Not all Southerners are slow, ya know... just the ones who decide they can flout death and then have everyone else pay for it.

If you don't follow leaders and watch your parking meters you don't need a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows

And you don't need syncophantic toadies like Mad George, or Charming Billy (who bombed the crap out of aspirin factories, certainly revving up the mad mullahs which lead to 9/11).

Give up on expecting D.C. to fix anything without massive screwups, grow up, be responsible for yourself, your family and your community.

Letting D.C. 'fix' things leads not only to pork and liars-in-chief, but also to expecting everyone else to fix our problems. Instead, I'll be there, as a disaster service volunteer, wherever needed; shirking community responsibility is not what I'm talking about.

Jeb Bush would be an excellent choice.

Jeb Bush would be an excellent choice ...... ...for me to poop on! (with apologies to Triumph the insult comic dog)

Call Erik Sten's office and ask him to describe Portland's disaster contingency plan for earthquake, volcano, etc. That'll give you chills.