Buyers Remorse

Craig Crawford thinks that Katrina has convinced a majority of Americans that Karl Rove sold them a lemon. It has unmasked the "compassionate conservative" and shown he is anything but compassionate.

Bush could throw a trillion dollars into the Mississippi Basin, dispatch hundreds of spinners to shift the blame — even fly to the region every other day until he is out of office — but to many Americans none of that would undo their first impressions of his above-it-all response to Katrina.

[....]

The president’s handling of this disaster reveals a part of his nature that explains so much more than the arguably preventable extent of Katrina’s unprecedented wreckage. It explains such things as his refusal to back down on Social Security revisions that even his own party leaders don’t want anymore. It explains how the “compassionate conservative” proclamation of his first presidential campaign translated into little of significance, especially for the urban poor. And it explains why he hasn’t gone to one funeral for an American soldier killed in Iraq.

In short, rising numbers of Americans perceive Bush as someone who thinks he’s always right, who believes his critics are know-nothing wimps, and who considers the little people as mere tools for the rich and powerful to do what he considers right for America.

And what happened to the salesman, Karl Rove?

Watching the president in his most unguarded moments of hurricane damage control, you had to wonder if he really gets it — if he really cares about average people unless their suffering threatens his political power. His priorities became suspect almost as soon as he landed for his first on-the-ground inspection tour after the hurricane.

Hoping to show empathy for the victims, Bush chose Sen. Trent Lott, the Mississippi Republican whose home was washed away, to be his prime example for demonstrating how he would fix things. “Out of the rubble of Trent Lott’s house — this guy lost his entire house — there’s going to be a fantastic house and I’m looking forward to sitting on the porch.”

There is no way that anyone with a brain in Bush’s inner circle would have scripted those remarks, at least not at this critical opening juncture of the president’s first ground tour. That is why it was so revealing. Bush’s world view seems mostly about the life experiences of his rich and powerful friends. He did not have a clue that in this widespread human tragedy, most Americans do not give a damn whether Lott gets his porch back or not.

And Queen Barbara comes to the rescue..NOT!

A few days later the president’s mother demonstrated quite clearly where his patrician instincts come from. Former first lady Barbara Bush said the Houston shelters she toured were “working very well” because the evacuees “were underprivileged anyway.”

To all of you that now have buyers remorse, don't say we didn't try to tell you so.

Update
Joe Gandelman has a couple of excellent posts on the impact Katrina may/will have on the Bush Administration.

• The Meaning Of The Hurricane Katrina Disaster Fiasco?


• Sabato's Crystal Ball: Perils Face George Bush

In the latter post he quotes Larry Sabato;

He is now in a position where he must play to his conservative base even more ardently, just to maintain that low level of support. Yet playing to the base alone will deepen partisan divisions and alienate the moderate Independents he needs to win back to climb back to or over 50 percent--the level of backing at which a President can make real progress on his agenda.

Joe then adds:

Note that this writer and others on this site qualify as moderate independents, although individuals may lean in one or another direction depending on the issue. Do you notice anything in our reactions to events over the past few months?)

Anyone who reads Joe has noticed a marked shift in the last few months. George has lost the middle and is now losing his base. To keep the base he will further alienate the middle. Poor George!