That Bullhorn Moment

Dowd: "You're already vulnerable and alone when suddenly you're beset by nature and betrayed by your government. At St. Rita's, 34 seniors fought to live with what little strength they had as the lights went out and the water rose over their legs, over their shoulders, over their mouths. As Gardiner Harris wrote in The Times, the failed defenses included a table nailed against a window and a couch pushed against a door. Several electric wheelchairs were gathered near the front entrance, maybe by patients who dreamed of evacuating. Their drowned bodies were found swollen and unrecognizable a week later, as Mr. Harris reported, "draped over a wheelchair, wrapped in a shower curtain, lying on a floor in several inches of muck."

"Even though we know W. likes to be in his bubble with his feather pillow, the stories this week are breathtaking about the lengths the White House staff had to go to in order to capture Incurious George's attention."

"W. has said he prefers to get his information straight up from aides, rather than filtered through newspapers or newscasts. But he surrounds himself with weak sisters who don't have the nerve to break bad news to him, or ideologues with agendas that require warping reality or chuckleheaded cronies like Brownie."

"The president should stop haunting New Orleans, looking for that bullhorn moment. It's too late." [NYT]

I'm glad that he's at least giving the public appearance that he is going to take some responsibility for this colossal disaster. But we all know where that will lead. He will open his own investigation of himself, which will lead nowhere. Call me cynical, but this was a case of a red state with a blue governor and mayor. Why should he help the poor? Their much easier to blame.