Bush & Katrina: The Beginning of the End?

The Washington Post examines how the ineptitude, incompetence and "out of touch" reactions of George W. Bush and his top people to the storm and its damage was the beginning of the end for his Administration. I think the vigil by Cindy Sheehan and her friends began the slide and initiated the questioning that many Americans began making about their President. It's open to argument. No one doubts the accumulated effect of both events in the same month being a devastating one two punch. Sheehan began a real examination of the war by many who had been unquestioning prior to her visit to Crawford. The hurricane combined to give a foreign policy/domestic policy "does anyone there know what they're doing" significance and shone the spotlight directly on the staggering weaknesses that had been present for four years.

When you recall how Bush was away from the White House on both of the most important events of his Administration: September 11th and Katrina, but flew back to Washington to sign the emergency bill passed to "save" a vegetative Terri Schiavo, one understands his priorities. He refused to cut back his August vacation even after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Instead of flying back to D.C. to oversee operations and policy he went to San Diego to accept a guitar gift, celebrated John McCain's birthday in Arizona and hosted a seminar about Medicare where he was laughing it up.

These images of a happy, carefree Bush having a ball while the people of New Orleans were drowning and desperate will haunt his legacy forever. The pictures will never go away, either in our minds, our memories, or in print.