Federal Team Ready and Waiting This Time
WASHINGTON — A Category 5 hurricane would presumably command the federal government's attention any time, but as Rita powered toward the Texas coast Wednesday, the Bush administration was doing its best to appear calm and collected while mobilizing as if its core credibility were on the line.
Indeed, Washington was so jittery over the possibility that the federal government might repeat the errors of Hurricane Katrina that some Republicans reacted with alarm when President Bush spent part of the day taking care of routine business -- delivering a boilerplate speech at a GOP luncheon and attending a lengthy meeting on his stalled Social Security plan.
"Why he spent 45 minutes on Social Security today floors me," said a GOP lobbyist close to the White House, expressing concern over what he called "a perception that no one is in charge."
But White House officials said Bush had spent much of Wednesday on hurricane business, including continual updates on Rita's progress. The time devoted to previously scheduled activities may have been intended to project a sense of calm.
Similarly, throughout the government agencies that have a role in responding to natural disasters, officials seemed intent on appearing placid. But with memories of Katrina still fresh, there was little evidence of the tentative, wait-to-be-asked approach that contributed to Washington's faltering response to the storm that devastated New Orleans and the eastern Gulf Coast three weeks ago.
"This is a huge hurricane and it's headed toward important national assets, so the focus had to be very sharp," said Morrie Goodman, a former spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "But what is also at stake is the reputation of FEMA and the reputation of the president of the United States. If this falls through the cracks, our nation will have no confidence in its government's ability to help them when they need it the most, and President Bush would be hard pressed to find his footing."
Signs that Washington meant to do better this time were visible across the government.
FEMA officials were not relying on the doubtful proposition that local telephones would keep working, as happened before Katrina. Instead, they had five military communications teams poised to move wherever Rita struck.
