Bush uses firemen as props

"In other words, bureaucracy is not going to stand in the way of getting the job done for the people."

More hollow words may have never been spoken by President Bush, who said the above yesterday before promising a full investigation of the federal government's bungled response to Hurricane Katrina. If Bush wanted to actually look at bureaucracy standing in the way of getting the job done for the people, he had to look no further than his shameful, unforgivable use of trained lifesavers as pawns in a public relations chess match.

Firemen were the first responders at Ground Zero in New York on September 11, their heroism obvious to everyone watching. This time, as an even greater disaster befell the United States, the very administration that callously staged its 2004 convention on the backs of those heroic efforts is now using firemen not to save lives, but to save face. From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Not long after some 1,000 firefighters sat down for eight hours of training, the whispering began: "What are we doing here?"

As New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin pleaded on national television for firefighters – his own are exhausted after working around the clock for a week – a battalion of highly trained men and women sat idle Sunday in a muggy Sheraton Hotel conference room in Atlanta.

Many of the firefighters, assembled from Utah and throughout the United States by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, thought they were going to be deployed as emergency workers.

Instead, they have learned they are going to be community-relations officers for FEMA, shuffled throughout the Gulf Coast region to disseminate fliers and a phone number: 1-800-621-FEMA.

On Monday, some firefighters stuck in the staging area at the Sheraton peeled off their FEMA-issued shirts and stuffed them in backpacks, saying they refuse to represent the federal agency.

And guess what happens if you refuse to play your role in FEMA's community theater production? You hate America:

"I would go back and ask the firefighter to revisit his commitment to FEMA, to firefighting and to the citizens of this country," said FEMA spokeswoman Mary Hudak.

Shameful, isn't it, to question the commitment of those who are proudly – and without fanfare – willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to save others? The administration's "compassionate conservatives" could learn a lesson from those they look to exploit. Because, as we learned yesterday, FEMA was more concerned about conveying a "positive image" in Katrina's aftermath than saving lives. It appears the same mindset persists days later.

"They've got people here who are search-and-rescue certified, paramedics, haz-mat certified," said a Texas firefighter. "We're sitting in here having a sexual-harassment class while there are still [victims] in Louisiana who haven't been contacted yet."

The firefighter, who has encouraged his superiors back home not to send any more volunteers for now, declined to give his name because FEMA has warned them not to talk to reporters.

That's bad enough, but do you want the capper, the absolutely disgusting signal that heads must roll immediately, that President Bush cares more about appearances than actually doing good. Well, here it is:

Firefighters say they want to brave the heat, the debris-littered roads, the poisonous cottonmouth snakes and fire ants and travel into pockets of Louisiana where many people have yet to receive emergency aid.

But as specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.

Using those whose time would be better spent saving lives as a living backdrop. If that's not an impeachable offense, this isn't America anymore.