Angry in the Great White North

FEMA director Michael Brown is having a bad week:

Rep. Tom Tancredo on Thursday became one of the first congressional Republicans to call for the ouster of embattled Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown.

Echoing criticism leveled by numerous Democrats this week, the Littleton congressman said he had lost confidence in Brown, a former Colorado lawyer who has been under fire for his agency's response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

But now more embarassing allegations:

FEMA Director Michael Brown's credentials are facing new questions.

Time Magazine reported that his official bio and online legal profile have discrepancies.

Brown's bio on the FEMA Web site said he oversaw emergency services in Edmond, Okla. According to the bio, Brown was "serving as an assistant city manager with emergency services oversight." But a spokeswoman for the city tells Time that Brown's position was "more like an intern."

The magazine also reported Brown's profile on the Web site FindLaw.com lists him as an "outstanding Political Science Professor" at Central State University. The school said he was a student.

Carl Reherman, an ex-political science professor at the university through the '70s and '80s, told Time that Brown "was not on the faculty."

Another alleged discrepancy uncovered by Time was that under the heading of "Professional Associations and Memberships" on FindLaw.com, it stated that Brown was director of the Oklahoma Christian Home, a nursing home in Edmond, from 1983 to the present.

An official at the Oklahoma Christian Home told Time that Brown is "not a person that anyone here is familiar with."

Some of these people are being asked to remember Brown from over 20 or 30 years ago. The same sort of thing happened with the President and his stint in the Texas Air National Guard. But in the President's case, people were being asked to recall one particular pilot out of many. In this case, people are being asked to recall someone who was allegedly their boss. I remember every boss I ever worked for, but the farther back I go, the fewer other people I remember.

The harsh truth here is that at this time, FEMA cannot afford to be distracted. Michael Brown seems to have lost the confidence of a large segment of the media and of government officials, and that loss is based on legitimate concerns as opposed to mere partisan complaints:

[Michael Brown] acknowledged last week that he didn't know there were 20,000 survivors enduring heinous conditions at the New Orleans convention center until a day after it had been widely reported in the news.

He should not have to be fired. Michael Brown should recognize that this is the time to resign and hand over the reigns of FEMA to someone else. Many of the allegations are unproven, so this could hardly be considered fair, but it would still be the right thing to do.