Baking Brownie

In the wake of a growing drumbeat for the firing of Mike Brown, Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff has removed the guy from Katrina relief efforts. He will be replaced in Louisiana by Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen.

Why not just fire Brown? FEMA badly bungled the relief efforts and badly bungled the subsequent evacuations. A Bush political hire, Brown was tapped chiefly for his expertise at having been college buddies with Joe Allbaugh. Oh, and Brownie (as the prez affectionately calls him) even fudged on his resume (note to self: remove "Astronaut" from CV).

Again, why not simply fire Mike Brown? While the fiasco surrounding Katrina's recovery operations runs far deeper than a single bureaucrat or a single agency, FEMA's mismanagement is obvious -- and such a removal would be a powerful statement that incompetence will not be tolerated.

But in the hamper of White House outrages, near the top of the heap is the administration's adamant refusal to admit mistakes. Hell, even being asked to name a single mistake was deemed a "trick question" by Dumbya during a 2004 presidential debate. In the mind of George W. Bush (maybe I'm making an assumption here, but stay with me), regret is for pussies. Admission is synonymous with weakness. Loyalty trumps everything, even when it's misplaced.

Not only would firing Brown be the right thing to do, the move would certainly help salvage the president's tumbling approval ratings. Bush could concede that he, too, is greatly troubled by FEMA's abysmal response. Bush could add that while state and local leaders obviously have much to answer for, too, there is no disputing FEMA's less-than-stellar response. And Bush could vow that this sort of debacle would not be tolerated.

All of that could happen -- but I wouldn't put money on it.