Now that Mike Brown has resigned from FEMA, it is time to build public pressure on the Bush administration to appoint the one man with the knowledge and experience to fix the mess Brown left behind... former Clinton administration FEMA chief, James Lee Witt.
This is the only way to instantly restore faith in FEMA, both in the eyes of the American public and in those of FEMA's own demoralized staff. Witt is the only man for the job, and if Bush cares more about public safety than about petty partisan politics, this would prove it.
Of course, we all sense that President Bush simply doesn't believe in FEMA's primary mission, and thus such an appointment -- politically savvy as it might be -- would be highly unlikely. Which is all the more reason to keep up the pressure, because it both helps expose the real world consequences of the Republican's failed ideology, and shows that in additon to blistering criticism, we have concrete, positive proposals to address this crisis.
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