---

First the speech, now
we need action

THE ISSUE The president has outlined his plans to rebuild the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina's devastation.

PRESIDENT Bush's speech to the nation from a deserted, stage-lit New Orleans cathedral was as much about redeeming his presidency as it was about rebuilding the stricken Gulf Coast.

Still, his call for review of emergency response and evacuation plans in urban areas is one that should be heeded by state and local officials since Hawaii's isolation leaves the islands particularly vulnerable to natural and man-made disasters.

Along with a brief repetition of his acknowledgment that the bungling response to Hurricane Katrina was his responsibility, the president submitted a list of initiatives to restore homes and businesses to the damaged region. Though he pointed to the "deep, persistent poverty" the nation "saw on television," he offered only to confront the profound and complex problem with unspecified "bold action."

If it seems that Bush, whose rhetoric is marked by distaste for big government programs, has now embraced a more liberal agenda, a closer look at his proposals shows his approach is by and large aligned with his ideology.

His $2.6 billion package for educating displaced children will include nearly $500 million for school vouchers that can be used at parochial schools, an idea Congress has rejected repeatedly. The worker recovery program is a revival of one that Congress also has turned away as ineffective in the long term.

Although Bush pledged that the federal government's generosity for tax credits and loans would be monitored, it is questionable whether the huge flow of taxpayer dollars through myriad agencies will be wisely spent without consistent oversight. Moreover, the president did not address how he plans to pay the bill that is likely to exceed the current $200 billion estimate.

Katrina's devastation was a blow to Bush's wobbling political foundation, undermined by the country's increasing unease about the continuing war in Iraq. The speech Thursday night was an effort to erase early missteps that had him at first appearing aloof to the havoc and the misery of hundreds of thousands of Americans, then disregarding the problems federal agencies were having with rescue and security. The resignation of Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown, a political appointee with no experience in disaster management, followed, but still the administration was unable to escape the tarnish.

When he finally admitted that government had failed to respond to the crisis effectively, Bush also conceded that Katrina revealed gaping flaws in emergency management, linking them to the nation's vulnerability to terrorism.

Four years after 9/11, Katrina raises disturbing questions about what the administration has been doing since then. Bush will need to back up his words with action.

---

BACK TO TOP
|

Pause to observe
Constitution Day

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

SCHOOLS in Hawaii and across the nation that receive federal money are engaged in various ways of marking today's anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787. People across the political sphere disagree strongly about the founding fathers' intentions, but the document endures as a guiding light that shines around the globe.

Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., known to carry a copy of the Constitution wherever he goes, inserted a provision into a 2004 spending bill ordering schools to pause to reflect on the Constitution every Sept. 17. Since that falls on a Saturday this year, most schools picked yesterday to observe it.

Hawaii schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto allowed more flexibility, advising individual schools to invite speakers, conduct special assemblies, show videos or do anything they like to focus on the Constitution this week or next. The University of Hawaii law school is celebrating Constitution Day with a panel discussion Thursday about government conduct and the detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

---

---

---