I got back late last night from a four-day photography workshop in Washington DC. The workshop was focused and had us either out taking pictures or in the classroom learning and getting our photos critiqued. I brought my laptop but couldn't get the internet connected, so the only news I got was a headline on the elevator-lobby TV that was tuned to CNN. They said the FEMA head was being returned to Washington and would be replaced by someone else on the scene in Louisiana.
If anything else happened, I don't know about it (except for the robbery at our hotel that kept us waiting across the street while the police collected evidence).
My impression of the FEMA story was that of the two theater masks--the smiling face and the frowning face. My prediction of the coverage was this:
Democrats will put the frowning spin on the story. Look how bad a job President Bush's chosen man is doing! Why, they had to practically fire him. Bush is bad/incompetent/bad/lying/bad. Frown. Frown.
Republicans will put the smiling spin on the story. Our man at FEMA has more duties than just cleaning up after one disaster. We need him in Washington, so we're going to send someone to relieve him and take over the ground effort and keep the FEMA head where he can do the most good. Bush is on top of things. Smile. Smile.
I don't know if the coverage actually went like that, but most news stories, especially analysis, are variations on that theme, depending on which side the analyst is on.
I understand the world keeps on spinning even when I'm not paying attention, and that's OK with me. I'll get caught up soon enough.
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