Bush Descent Continues and Katrina won't help

The CBS News poll, like other recent polls, has Bush's approval rating at a new low.

PRESIDENT BUSH

President Bush’s overall approval rating now stands at 41 percent, a 4-point drop since early August, matching his lowest rating ever in this poll, amid poor perceptions of the war in Iraq and mounting concerns over high gas prices.

Hurricane Katrina Response

Hurricane Katrina may give President Bush the opportunity to increase his low approval ratings. In fact, his overall rating did rise on the last day of the poll, after he returned to the White House from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, and addressed the nation on the crisis in the Gulf Coast.

But in the early days of this crisis, many Americans are withholding judgment about his handling of it. Fifty-four percent approve of the way the President is handling Hurricane Katrina, and only 12 percent disapprove -- but one-third can't say yet. This question was added to the poll on Tuesday, the day after Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf coast.

BUSH’S HANDLING OF HURRICANE KATRINA

Bush’s current rating for his handling of Hurricane Katrina is actually lower than what his father, former president George H.W. Bush received for his handling of Hurricane Andrew. In September 1992, nearly two-thirds approved of then-President Bush’s handling of Hurricane Andrew, while three in 10 disapproved -- but that poll was conducted nearly three weeks after Hurricane Andrew hit Florida.

As it becomes clear how bad the FEMA response was Bush's numbers will probably descend even further. Even Jonah Goldberg is asking serious questions.

As I think about what the finger-pointers are likely to say in the aftermath of all this it's hard not to credit some of their complaints. For years, Democrats complained that we needed to spend more on "first-responders." I took this for what it often was: an attempt to pad municipal budgets with pork. But, one must concede it wasn't entirely about that either. And while it's likely this disaster would have presented many if not most of the challenges we're seeing this week, even if all that money had been spent as the Democrats wanted, it remains hard to dispute that it would have been better spent than much of the garbage in recent budgets.

[....]

So the question is, would the money have been better spent if the Republicans hadn't gotten their way? And, though it sickens me to say so, that is at best an open question. I have the utmost faith in the kleptocratic and dysfunctional governments of New Orleans and Louisiana to waste and steal money. But, we were supposed to be preparing --at the national level -- for a major terrorist attack for the last four years. I just don't see much evidence of that preparation. Congress re-assembled lickity-split to deal with Terri Schiavo -- a decision that didn't and does not bother me the way it bothers some. But however you define the issues involved in that case, in terms of real human suffering they are very hard to stack-up against what's happened in New Orleans. Congress should have convened yesterday and rescinded the highway bill. It should have broken-open the farm bill like a piñata and reallocated the monies therein.

And the poor response fuels doubts over US terror plans. So much for Homeland Security.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hurricane Katrina's devastation of New Orleans -- and the delay helping stranded people get out or even get water and food -- is raising doubts that U.S. cities may be ill-prepared to cope with a potentially worse disaster: a major attack.

Four years after the September 11, 2001, attacks, the storm disaster marked the first time the federal government has invoked its post-September 11 response plan aimed at enhancing Washington's ability to deal with national incidents.

But as Americans reeled at images of death and desperation among the city's refugees, experts on domestic security said a nuclear or biological attack on a big U.S. city could cause greater mayhem, and unlike the storm, come without warning.

The New Orleans disaster is already viewed as an illustration of what can go wrong in an American city under siege.

"In many ways, this is a test of our national capacity," said James Carafano, senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "If we can't do this 24-7-365, we aren't doing our job for preparedness."

And as for Bush, too little to late.
Hurricane Katrina relief efforts unacceptable-Bush

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina have been unacceptable, President Bush acknowledged on Friday before heading out on a tour of storm-ravaged New Orleans and other areas of the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Faced with victims' urgent pleas for help and mounting criticism that the federal government has been too slow to respond, Bush said many people had been working hard in the five days since the deadly storm struck on Monday morning, but more needed to be done.

"The results are not acceptable. I'm headed down there right now. I'm looking forward to talking to the people on the ground," he said."

He should have been thinking about that on Monday when he was comparing his clusterfuck invasion of Iraq to World War II and strumming a guitar.