Complain All You Want, But Rove Will Not Fire Michael Brown

Many people have called for the firing of FEMA Director Michael Brown. Nancy Pelosi wants him out of there, as does radical right-wing extremist Michelle Malkin. Hell, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) wanted Bush to fire him last January.

It was a good idea then, and it is a great idea now. Unfortunately, Brown will be staying put for the time being, because firing him would not be in line with Karl Rove's overall strategy of blaming local officials for the Gulf Coast Debacle.

After all, how can you say that everyone else is at fault and then turn around and sack the guy you picked to run the show from your end? Wouldn't be prudent -- such an act would amount to a tacit admission of failure, and admitting failure just ain't part of the strategy.

All the usual suspects are out there implementing the Rove Plan. Brit Hume was desperately trying to spin the notion that Bush "pleaded" with local officials to evacuate NOLA prior to Katrina's arrival, until that turned out to be a lie. Sean Hannity is on the case, as is the Washington Times.

Tom DeLay was in fine form yesterday:

The House majority leader late Tuesday tried to deflect criticism of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina by saying "the emergency response system was set up to work from the bottom up," then announced a short time later that House hearings examining that response had been canceled. * * *

"It's the local officials trying to handle the problem. When they can't handle the problem, they go to the state, and the state does what they can to, and if they need assistance from FEMA and the federal government they ask for it and it's delivered," DeLay said.

He added that Alabama and Mississippi did a much better job of responding quickly than Louisiana. Alabama and Mississippi have Republican governors.

Of course, elements of the news media are now being reined in -- after all, you don't want people seeing more dead bodies when you are trying to re-write the history of this unfortunate event.

Rove has run this play before. That is why Rumsfeld still has a job. That is why Wolfowitz was "promoted" and is now president of the World Bank. That is why Condi is now Secretary of State. That is why Bremer and Tenet are now Medal of Freedom recipients. Never admit failure. In fact, always reward it. That's the Rove Way.

Don't get me wrong -- Brown is finished. He will go out in about the same way Tenet did -- a "retirement" timed to occur after the whole Katrina debacle calms down a bit but before the 2006 mid-term elections, followed of course by Rove awarding him the Medal of Freedom (so long as "Brownie" agrees never to say anything bad about the administration). George W. Bush will surely reprise his role as Presenter at the Award Ceremony, which will probably happen sometime in early summer 2006.

Remember -- you heard it here first.