When you've lost Robert Novak

Lyndon Johnson knew that when he lost Walter Cronkite he'd lost the war. Well as of this morning it appears that the Bush administration has lost one of it's chief cheerleaders and shills Robert Novak. Don't get me wrong, I think Novak's reaction to the administrations non-reaction to Katrina is politically motivated. He realizes full well the implications of the debacle on the 2006 mid term elections and his dreams of a fascist republic are evaporating. It is a sign that Bush himself is rapidly becoming tainted meat as Republicans look forward to 2006. Novak is critical of Bush for filling the positions in The Department of Homeland Security and FEMA with "lawyers" lacking management experience.

Democrats have seized on the administration's performance in handling Katrina to bash President Bush, but Republicans are not much happier with him. The common complaint is that the president has let the lawyers take over. Chertoff, a former federal judge and assistant attorney general, is a quintessential lawyer who has surrounded himself at Homeland Security with more lawyers. Michael D. Brown, who as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is Chertoff's subordinate, is also a lawyer. Neither Chertoff nor Brown was experienced in politics or large-scale management before joining the Bush administration.

Chertoff's inexperience was shown when he said ''I've got this down'' into an open microphone, thinking he was safe because the cameras were off and not realizing his words were transmitted via satellite. He clearly saw himself as an advocate tailoring what he said to a lawyer's brief.

He quotes several Republicans including Rep. Christopher Shays.

Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut is more liberal than nearly all his fellow Republicans, but he has tried to be a Bush loyalist. He is a member of the Homeland Security Committee and chairs the national security subcommittee of the Government Reform Committee. Consequently, it is noteworthy when he accuses the administration of ''a real sense of arrogance. Loyalty and never admitting a mistake matters more than the truth. It has a Nixon feel to me.''

He correctly concludes that there is blame enough to go around.

The Democrats on the ground, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, have done little to commend themselves. But that does not excuse the federal performance, in the candid opinion of many Republicans. To start with, these Republicans talk about taking FEMA back from the Homeland Security Department. They agree that heads must roll, certainly Brown's and possibly Chertoff's. Above all, these Republican politicians say, let's get the lawyers out of disaster relief.