Bush seen as doing too little, too late

By Richard Luscombe

Guardian -- Saturday September 3, 2005

The fallout from the Gulf coast disaster could take a heavy political toll on President George Bush, who has been accused by some of fiddling while New Orleans drowns.

His already plummeting popularity rating is likely to take another big hit, according to experts who say the public largely see his response to the tragedy as several days too late, inadequate and insincere.

Visiting the storm-wrecked town of Biloxi, Mississippi, Mr Bush hugged a sobbing survivor. The woman, Bronwynne Bassier, 23, clutched a plastic bag containing all she had rescued from her wrecked home. "We're going to get you some help," Mr Bush said. "Hang in there. Help is on the way."

Later on the tour, Mr Bush was asked if the US could continue spending billions of dollars in the war in Iraq amid the hurricane crisis. He replied: "We've got plenty of resources to do both. We'll secure our country from the terrorists and we'll rebuild this area. We've got what it takes to do more than one thing."

But even as the rescue operation continues, anger is growing that the administration's focus on the war in Iraq diminished its ability to respond adequately to a growing crisis at home.

"There's no doubt it has already led people to further question the president's involvement in Iraq," said William Stewart, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alabama. "If we didn't have so many resources there, we might have been able to respond to the tragedy here at home more quickly."

Public dissent over Mr Bush's reaction is reflected in newspaper editorials, radio talk shows and weblogs. The New York Times described the president's first public comments on the tragedy on Wednesday, two days after the storm hit, as "one of the worst speeches of his career".

Its columnist Paul Krugman wrote: "America, once famous for its can-do attitude, now has a can't-do government that makes excuses instead of doing its job. And while it makes those excuses, Americans are dying."

Amanda Lang, a retired US army officer and political commentator writing on the Opednews.com weblog, attacked the president for staying on vacation at his Crawford ranch for three days before returning to Washington.

"He treats his own citizens with the same contempt and callousness as he does the Iraqi civilians, as 'collateral damage'," Professor Lang said.

Referring to Mr Bush's address to citizens of the Gulf coast, she added: "His heart and prayers may have been there, but his ass sure wasn't."

Those directly involved in the tragedy have also spoken out. Ray Nagin, the New Orleans mayor, reflected the anger of his stranded citizens when he told a local radio station: "We had an incredible crisis here and his flying over in Air Force One does not do it justice. They flew down here one time two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters, all kind of goddamn - excuse my French, everybody in America, but I am pissed [off]."

Prof Stewart said Mr Bush's early handling of the situation was definitely "not a plus" but that he was always going to receive criticism regardless of his actions. "It is easy to say in retrospect that he should have done such and such but, because of the scale of the problems, any administration would have been underprepared."

Political enemies wasted little time in weighing in. President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, a long-time critic who refers to Mr Bush as Mr Danger, said: "That man, the king of vacations, said nothing but 'you have to flee', and did not say how. It's cowboy mentality."

With a war in the Middle East, economic difficulties at home, including soaring petrol prices, and now the nation's largest natural disaster to deal with, Mr Bush is facing his biggest challenge since the 2001 terrorist attacks.

"This is a supreme test of Bush's leadership at a time when resources are thin and his approval ratings are perilously low," poll expert John Zogby told Reuters. "The president is going to have to do a lot more than a 25-minute flyover."

Source: Guardian

posted 4 September 2005