"Somebody asked George H.W. Bush Monday about the criticism of his son's handling of Hurricane Katrina, and the former president said that the critics ought to tell it to his wife -- and that they ought to don a flak jacket before trying. But this morning, it's Barbara Bush herself who might want to think about some protective clothing, at least metaphorically speaking.

The former first lady toured the Astrodome Monday, and along the way she opined that many of the refugees from New Orleans were so poor to begin with that they ought to be pretty happy with their temporary digs in Houston. "What I’m hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas," Barbara Bush said in comments first aired on the public radio program "Marketplace" and reprinted by Editor & Publisher. "Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."

In the midst of that last line, you can hear the former first lady chuckling."

There just aren't words, really, to say how tactless that was.

Barbara Bush on those lucky refugees

I'm a little saddened today at the news of O'Connor's resignation. I'm not sad because of the possibility of Roe being overturned. In fact, O'Connor is one of those truly moderate judges for whom almost every case seems to be a close call.

What I'm sad about is that there are no women on the "short list" of nominees. Women have made great stides in all careers, but something seems to be happening to women who go to law school. Women now out-number men in law school. But, women only make up 15% of the deans of law schools. Eighty-seven percent of partners in law firms are men. Women are much more likely than men to give up the practice of law entirely.

I hope that when I retire, hopefully close to the O'Connor's age, the Supreme Court, law firms and all professions will look more like the world does: Half men, half women.