Bush has Toasted Brown

Brown's #1 mistake in my opinion was cranking up his PR machine during the worst part of the chaos.

Being a good bureaucrat is not the same as effective leadership in a crisis.

Part of the problem is that as part of homeland security FEMA has morphed. The expectations are different. It is no longer expected to be just a check writing organization. It is expected to roll trucks and equipment in early days. Given the size of expected future disasters multi state responses will be required.

We want a 21st century response time, not a 1950s model.

I thought that Brown had a shakey understanding of the job because of the T-shirt incident early on. Replacing him with a Coast Guard Admiral was a brilliant move.

1. He will understand logistics.
2. He will understand relations with state and local governments.
3. He will be used to working with the military.
4. He will have knowledge of organizing commands in the midst of chaos.

A brilliant move by Bush to improve the staff.

In fact I suggested such a move just a few days ago. This is what I said:

I'd like to see a military logistics expert leading FEMA.

In any case when organizations get ossified you have to fire some people. Pour l'ecourager les autres. Bush should know all about this. He was part owner of a baseball team.