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Bush's Pitiful Leadership in Time of Crisis

By Jeralyn, Section Huricanes Katrina and Rita
Posted on Sun Sep 11, 2005 at 05:00:30 PM EST
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Don't miss the New Yorker's Top of the Town. Here's a snippet:

...to a frightening degree, Bush’s faults of leadership and character were brought into high relief by the crisis. Suntanned and relaxed after a vacation so long that it would have shamed a French playboy, Bush reacted with fogged delinquency, as if he had been so lulled by his summer sojourn that he was not quite ready to acknowledge reality, let alone attempt to master it. His first view of the floods came, pitifully, theatrically, from the window of a low-flying Air Force One, and all the President could muster was, according to his press secretary, “It’s devastating. It’s got to be doubly devastating on the ground.” The moment demanded clarity of mind and rigorous governance, and yet he could not summon them.

[hat tip Terry Kindlon.] On a much lighter note, check out Eyewitness Muse's Administration "Natural Terror" Color Charts. A sample:

Gray: A massive storm is approaching and decisive action should be taken.

Tan: Ignore pending danger, it’s vacation season.

White: Storm is heading for a state governed by a Bush relative, spare no resource.

Update: Another must-read: Evan Thomas in Newsweek: How Bush Blew It.

< Report: U.S. Cover Up on Toxic Waters and NOLA | Time: Bush Aides Virtually Admit They Blew It >

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    Bush's Pitiful Leadership in Time of Crisis | 4 comments (4 topical)
    Re: Bush's Pitiful Leadership in Time of Crisis (none / 0) (#1)
    by scarshapedstar on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:40 PM EST
    Yellow: Sit on the ranch and then go cut some cake, and then clean some more of that pesky brush.

    Re: Bush's Pitiful Leadership in Time of Crisis (none / 0) (#2)
    by glanton on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:41 PM EST
    This is both funny and true, but for the life of me I cannot understand why it took a disaster of this magnitude to awaken the public to the Republicans' indifference/outright antipathy to poor people. The fiscal policies, beginning with Reagan, have been telling us everything we need to know.

    Re: Bush's Pitiful Leadership in Time of Crisis (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:41 PM EST
    Glanton--That's arguably the most unseemly thing about this administration--their absolute bone-deep insistance on the class system (with themselves at the top, natch). I've never seen such clutching at the pearls as when someone suggests to Bush or his defenders that their beleagered wealthy might be asked to shoulder a proportionate share of the costs of this society, or such contempt for any honest effort or scheme for the poor to change their situations.

    Re: Bush's Pitiful Leadership in Time of Crisis (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:45 PM EST
    I've never understood where Bush's reputation as a bold, decisive leader came from. If I remember correctly, he was practically unfindable on September 11th, running around the country from airbase to airbase dodging non-existent threats. His reaction to Hurricane Katrina - dither until his handlers tell him what to do - seems of a piece with that. So we have a chronically indecisive president being run by people whose main focus is on promoting a discredited ideological platform but who have no ability to respond pragmatically or quickly to real-world events. No wonder we're in such a mess.

    Bush's Pitiful Leadership in Time of Crisis | 4 comments (4 topical)