The following is a brief roundup of selected local newspaper editorials Wednesday: LIBERTY TIMES: Consoling victims becomes litany of complaints Amid mounting criticism over failed flood relief operations, President Ma Ying-jeou's news conference Tuesday was a disappointment. He stressed that he will not evade his responsibility, and that the road to resettlement is long and he will let the people know that he can carry out the task effectively. When he previously failed to deliver on his campaign promises, he said that he will deliver it in 2016, and now he is employing the same gambit. The more tangible measure he proposed during the news conference is to set up a disaster prevention and relief agency to replace the current National Fire Agency under the Ministry of the Interior, but we think that it is only a change of name and will not upgrade rescue and relief efficiency. We can now be sure that the Ma administration, which missed the golden 72 hours period, has now proven itself powerless in relief operations. Ma Ying-jeou's so-called consoling voice to ease the pain of those suffering has become a consoling voice full of excuses about why relief efforts were hampered, such as excessive amounts of rainfall, blocked roads and villagers who did not evacuate. Can we turn over our nation to such a man? We have trouble sleeping or eating if we also think that he is insisting on pushing for an economic cooperation framework agreement with China. APPLE DAILY: Military in trouble if rescue mission like combat operation The military rescue operation in Typhoon Morakot has been hampered by the procrastination of the president and the defense minister. Intelligence agencies in other countries often use the speed, the deployment and efficiency a nation's military has displayed in a rescue operation to gauge its combat capability. If our military were evaluated by the rescue mission this time, it would have been wiped out in the very beginning and the root of it can be traced to an inefficient commander-in-chief. We also think the conspiracy theory circulating on the Internet that the U.S. sending heavy-lift helicopters to Taiwan to aid relief operations was a competition between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan is a smearing of goodwill assistance. UNITED DAILY NEWS: More than flood-affected areas need to be rebuilt President Ma Ying-jeou's two news conferences Tuesday were mainly aimed at improving the seriously tarnished image his administration has suffered over the past 10 days due to a chaotic flood relief effort. Every one knows that the focus of Ma's administration will now be on post- disaster reconstruction, but we think that Taiwan also needs reconstruction in three other major fronts: First, public confidence in the administration should be rebuilt. When the government's relief operations are seen as far less efficient than those of civilian groups and when officials are the targets of angry outbursts from flood victims when they inspect the affected areas, we think a crisis of confidence has formed. If such a crisis cannot be reversed, we believe an effective reconstruction effort will be compromised. Secondly, we think that the Cabinet should be rebuilt judging from its performance during the relief operation. All eyes are on Ma when he said that the Cabinet will be adjusted by September. The third thing that needs reconstruction will be the nation's finances. The government has initially estimated that NT$110 billion will be needed for post- disaster reconstruction. But we know that the nation's deficit has become more serious with this year's shortfall in tax revenues to the tune of several hundreds of billions of dollars. The nation's debt has almost risen to its legally mandated ceiling. The Finance Ministry's tax-cutting measures over the past year, the free lunch promises on a whim of the premier and the Ministry of Economic Affairs subsidy for TMC in an unfavorable environment have all been 'mudslides' created by government agencies. We know that if we cannot rebuild on the above three fronts, then post-flood reconstruction tasks will flounder. CHINA TIMES: We're not just expecting an apology! President Ma Ying-jeou offered an apology over the slow and chaotic rescue and relief operations in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot. But have you accepted it or felt his sincerity? Disaster relief efforts are seldom satisfactory. The government was also panned soon after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Taiwan on Sept. 21, 1999. When the people are in pain, a government should show its professionalism as well as empathy. President Ma said he has done his best, but when his good friend and policy adviser openly lash out at the Ma administration as cold blooded, he has been dealt a serious blow. Ma was still 'reasoning' during his news conference Tuesday when he explained why he did not issue an emergency decree after the most serious flooding in 50 years battered southern Taiwan. We think that a president who abides by the law and will not randomly expand his power is to be appreciated in peacetime, but if a president still clings to the law during a major disaster, he could easily fall prey to triviality and overlook the big picture. The president and all political appointees cannot avoid their responsibility, but we hope that they will not dwell on the administration's popularity but rather confront the nation's future plight. 