Remember way back when how republicans got all bent out of shape when a story (later shown to be false) circulated that President Bill Clinton had tied up air traffic because he was getting a five-dollar haircut on an airplane sitting on a runway? I wonder where the outrage is about this: Oh the blessed irony. Last Tuesday, the 30th??? … Read More
Katrina Aid Package
Congress passed a $51 billion Katrina aid package today. Eleven (!!) voted against it. Take a guess: Were they (a) members of the "culture of life" Republican party, or (b) Democrats?
Bush Losing Republican Support
The latest from Pew Research: The American public is highly critical of President Bush’s handling of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Two-in-three Americans (67%) believe he could have done more to speed up relief efforts, while just 28% think he did all he could to get them going quickly. At the same time, Bush’s overall job approval rating has slipped to … Read More
More Katrina Punditry
Today, we’re going to have some fun with Renew America columnist Karen Pittman, living proof that beauties and brains tend not to run together. Or not run at all. Keep in mind as you read that, according to her bio, she’s known as the "Lay’s Potato Chip of political punditry". Which is saying something. I have heard it all now. … Read More
Hurricane Victims To Cheney: “Go Fuck Yourself”
Well, turnabout is fair game. Months ago, Cheney (on the Senate floor) told Senator Leahy to "go fuck himself". Today, some local in Mississippi said the same thing . . . to Cheney. It aired on CNN. Crooks and Liars has the video. Raw Story has the transcript: Off camera, a protester shouts, "Go f–k yourself, Mr. Cheney. Go f–k … Read More
CBS Poll: 58% Disapprove Of Bush’s Handling Of Katrina
CBS: President George W. Bush finds disapproval on his handling of the matter, too — and the public now shows diminished confidence in his abilities to handle a crisis or provide leadership, as well as in the government’s ability to protect the country. RATING THE RESPONSE President George W. Bush’s overall response to Katrina meets with disapproval today – a … Read More
Denial Is A Flooded River In Egypt
Oy vey: At a news conference, Pelosi, D-Calif., said Bush’s choice for head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency had "absolutely no credentials." She related that she had urged Bush at the White House on Tuesday to fire Michael Brown. "He said ‘Why would I do that?’" Pelosi said. "’I said because of all that went wrong, of all that … Read More
Whitewash Begins
This was predictable: Yesterday, congressional Republicans tried to get a head start, announcing the formation of an [Katrina] investigative commission that they can control. They rejected Democratic appeals to model the panel after the Sept. 11 commission, which was made up of non-lawmakers and was equally balanced between Republicans and Democrats. That commission won wide praise for assessing how the … Read More
The Cult Presidency
Matt Yglesius looks at polling data regarding Katrina, and makes some astute observations: There’s some striking stuff in this CBS poll on Katrina. 58 percent disapprove of Bush’s handling of the hurricane, and just 38 percent approve. But consider this — only 20 percent say the federal government’s handling of the disaster was adequate, while 77 percent say it wasn’t. … Read More
Katrina Talking Points
Others have summarized the right wing excuses on Katrina, but so far, I like Green Knight’s the best: 1. The real victims here are the President and his Administration, because they’re being (gasp!) criticized. The people stranded in New Orleans are not victims. They have no one to blame but themselves.2. Nobody could have seen the emergency coming. Nevertheless, those … Read More
TDS on Bush Disasters
For those who saw Jon Stewart skewer the Bush Administration last night on The Daily Show, you might not have had enough time to read this graphic. It clearly shows (as correspondent Ed Helms said) that the Bush Administration is organized — they are going through disasters in alphabetical order:
Firemen Used As Katrina Image Spinners And Props
From Josh Marshall: On the Al Franken show this afternoon I mentioned this article from today’s Salt Lake Tribune which tells the story of about a thousand firefighters from around the country who volunteered to serve in the Katrina devastation areas. But when they arrived in Atlanta to be shipped out to various disaster zones in the region, they found … Read More
Katrina Timeline
For present and future reference, Think Progress has an excellent timeline of Katrina and the, um, "response" to it. So does TPM — it’s a work-in-progress, but will no doubt be more thorough.
Kristol Clear
I’ve seen a lot of Bush apologists in the past several years, but this beats all. William Kristol, the conservative publisher of The Weekly Standard, said of Mr. Bush: "I do think people think he could have showed stronger leadership." But Mr. Kristol expressed doubt that the hurricane would have much lasting effect on the president’s personal and political fortunes, … Read More
Brownie Did A Great Job
The Associated Press has a developing story… The government’s disaster chief waited until hours after Hurricane Katrina had already struck the Gulf Coast before asking his boss to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security employees to the region _ and gave them two days to arrive, according to internal documents. Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sought the approval … Read More