Responsibility

On Sunday I quoted President Truman’s words: “The buck stops here”. I have had a friend tell me that no president can be held responsible in all circumstances. I am a former Air Force officer. When I went through leadership training at the USAF Officers Training School, one of the first principles of leadership that I learned was that authority can be delegated, but responsibility cannot. Responsibility can be traced from the lowest ranks up the chain of command to the President of the United States. President Bush holds the ultimate responsibility for the slow response to Katrina that we all watched unfold on our televisions.

The President of the United States is the most powerful man on the planet. Unfortunately in the photo-op and sound-bite age we have elected charming, charismatic good ol’ boys who are not fit for the office. On Sunday, August 28, 2005, there was a category 5 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico headed toward New Orleans. On Monday, August 29, 2005, President Bush left his ranch in Crawford, Texas, for a fundraising trip to Arizona and California instead of returning to Washington and providing the leadership required to coordinate the response to Katrina. This is dereliction of duty. In the military he would be court marshaled. For the President of the United States the process begins with impeachment.