The Price of Political Favors

There’s something horribly wrong when Wal-Mart gets to a disaster area before the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Of course, Wal-Mart is successful because it is efficient. Sam Walton, its founder and perhaps the shrewdest businessman in the late 20th century, knew that efficiency is the way to profit. He made sure that he hired the best people for the job. George W. Bush, who spent his career running failing businesses, nominated Michael D. Brown to run FEMA back in 2003. Most of his work experience was working for the International Arabian Horse Association. He also happened to be a college roommate of Bush's 2000 campaign coordinator. It's not surprising that Wal-Mart made it to the disaster areas first. They hire the right guy for the right job - and Bush sure didn't. So what was wrong with FEMA? It wasn't the system. It was George W. Bush. He was thinking about political favors instead of thinking of the good of the nation. Of course that leads to problems. It's only horse sense.