Michael Loewinger
speaker
1,796 appearances
17 recordings
2 series
first heard Jun 2026
last heard 4d ago
Michael Loewinger’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 17 in all, peaking in Sep 2026 with 9.
Appearances
But I think the feeling was, well, that's a once in a hundred years thing.
Except three years later, Hurricane Andrew hit in ninety two.
Another category five, one of the strongest in Florida's history.
And FEMA was on the front pages.
A barrage of criticism for its handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew.
After the storm, as journalists started digging into FEMA's dysfunction, they discovered a political backwater filled with unqualified Bush appointees.
Congressional records show that while at most federal agencies there is only one political appointee for every 3,000 government agencies, at FEMA there's one for every 300.
So the election for the president was only like three
Bill Clinton, the first Democrat to take the White House in 12 years, had seen how FEMA's reputation had dragged his predecessors.
Unlike them, he understood that natural disasters are media spectacles, predictable, high-stakes dramas that generate a steady stream of coverage.
So when Clinton came into office, he did something radical.
He appointed somebody actually qualified to run.
FEMA, somebody who would fundamentally transform the agency from a liability to a government success story.
A man named James Lee Witt, who had served as the Arkansas Director of Emergency Management when Clinton was governor.
He said if it affects people's lives.
And it's
Gonna be in the media.
Then I want to know about it.
This is Witt speaking with C SPAN in nineteen ninety six.
When they first met, Clinton was a law professor and congressional candidate, and Witt ran a local construction company.
Showing 1181–1200 of 1,796 · page 60 of 90
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