The Blame Game Begins

AS THE DEMOCRATS crank up the blame game, citing a planned “cut” in the budget of the New Orleans District Corps of Engineers budget here and here as a reason to blame President Bush for the devastation, conservative Michael Ledeen waxes lyrical about the insouciance of cities that live under constant threat of annihilation.

For decades, Democrats have excoriated the Corps of Engineers as a wasteful organization that harms the environment with its dam-building and river channelization projects. Now they are going to use “budget cuts” as a cudgel to beat President Bush.

But Ledeen writes about how cities like New Orleans, Venice, and Naples, that face constant threat from inundation from water or blanketing with volcanic ash, must affect a bold face against the furies of Nature. New Orleans, he writes,

has long been admired for its literary creativity, its exceptional food, and its wonderful music, and deplored — albeit also frequented — because of its legendary corruption and degradation. The possibility of its destruction no doubt played a role in the character of its people, and it is no accident that an annual bacchanal took place there, in the riotous celebrations of Mardi Gras. Death has always been omnipresent in the consciousness of the city; dancing in defiance of death was the city’s trademark, and the spirited music that defined New Orleans for much of the world was played at the happiest occasions, and at the most famous funerals.

In the coming months the people of the United States will dip generously into their pockets and their hearts to help the people of New Orleans as they rebuild their city and their lives. We all hope that our Democratic friends will pitch in and help.

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Christopher Chantrill blogs at www.roadtothemiddleclass.com. His Road to the Middle Class is forthcoming.