[SpamCop-Social] Bush Plays Politics With Hurricane Relief Efforts

[The Smirking Chimp]

"Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried 
to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). 
Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed 
legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation 
of New Orleans, a source within the state's emergency operations center said 
Saturday.

"The administration sought unified control over all local police and state 
National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected 
the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would 
be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials in the 
state suspected a political motive behind the request. "Quite frankly, if 
they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could 
have blamed everything on the locals," said the source, who does not have the 
authority to speak publicly."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301680.html

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