Decius wrote:

President George W. Bush took responsibility on Tuesday for any failures in the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and acknowledged the storm exposed serious deficiencies at all levels of government four years after the September 11 attacks.

I don't want to meme CNN's homepage so I'm linking a different copy of this story. This is important. It means the Administration has acknowledged that the federal response wasn't rapid enough and will work to address the problem going forward. Its the best sort of answer you could expect.

Yet another proof that when you poll in the low 40's to high 30's you'll do things that superficially change your image.

I think officially whenever the president talks about ANYTHING now he has to reference 9/11... even if it's a crisis that has nothing to do with 9/11. The rhetoric is sounding more and more empty.

[he played politics first so I feel fine doing this]

The point is that this administration has centered itself around the idea that they're "protecting the homeland". But when the homeland is actually in trouble it fell on it's face. Spending $68BN on fixing the gulf coast is a start.

But doesn't all this money and spending stink of "New Deal" and FDR? What should a real conservative do? Admit that the point of the federal goverment is to help it's citizens? Address poverty and lack of health care?

I suspect that what the people really want is the repeal of the estate tax. (a tax that only truely effects those w/ more than $1M in assets) I suspect that bechtel and halliburton will be getting paid fat. I suspect that the poor and destitute families that were bussed to other parts of the country will stay and thereby aid in the "gentrification" of the gulf coast.

I suspect the President. I suspect that the bush administration will continue to fail america. I don't want this to happen.

It shouldn't have happened in the first place.

RE: Bush - I am responsible.