When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf coast, people wondered when President George W. Bush would show up at the scene to offer some hope to the 100,000 plus people left behind in New Orleans. When would the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) take action? The truth of the matter is, FEMA was slow to take action, and Bush decided not to be presidential. What happened to the George W. Bush of Sept. 11, 2001? When he was at ground zero, bullhorn in hand, offering up support and encouraging words to the firemen, police and others involved in rescue efforts. That Bush is gone, perhaps lost to history.
Bush in his second term is a lame-duck do-nothing Chief Executive, with a job approval rating of about 40%, the worst ever for him. Bill Clinton’s job approval rating during the impeachment hearings of 1998 was at 73% in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll. I doubt that Bush’s numbers will ever be that high.
Bush was riding high after his re-election. At a White House press conference on Nov. 4, 2004, Bush said he would use the “political capital” he earned from the election to push his agenda for the second term. “Let me put it to you this way: I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it. It is my style. That's what happened in the — after the 2000 election, I earned some capital. I've earned capital in this election — and I'm going to spend it for what I told the people I'd spend it on, which is — you've heard the agenda: Social Security and tax reform, moving this economy forward, education, fighting and winning the war on terror,” Bush said.
Here we are now, nine months into the second term, and Bush has squandered his capital. What happened to Social Security reform? Why haven’t we caught Osama Bin Laden? What exactly is his administration doing for education, if that administration wants to cut funding to the Federal Perkins Loan Program?
When Republicans talk about the Clinton administration, they’ll mention the “scandals” of his administration, always trying to make the argument of what a poor president Bill Clinton was because of those scandals (or rather, non-scandals, since no charges were ever filed against Clinton for them).
Article comments
1 - markus fors
It feels frusturating that the administration try to blame the innocent.
What the republican John McCain said in Fast Company by his "In search for courage" points it all out all too clear.
"No one has had the courage to stand up and say, "It's my fault, I'm going to resign.
When no one takes responsibility for failure, or when responsibility is so broadly shared that individual accountability is ignored, then failure in public office becomes acceptable.
It's hard to see how that serves the country."
2 - Dr. Forbush
You wrote:
"What happened to the George W. Bush of Sept. 11, 2001?"
Obviously there is quite a difference here. On 9/11/2001 3000 people, mainly stockbrokers, lost their lives. With the flooding of New Orleans only 10,000 mainly poor people lost their lives. Isn't the difference obvious? On 9/11/2001 George W Bush lost about 3000 Republican voters, in New Orleans he didn't loose any...
3 - 1Potato
Dr. Forbush:
If you are a medical doctor, you should cure yourself of your sickness before you try to help others.
1) Is it true that 10,000 people died?
[Remember the Palestinian City Jenin? Hundreds of innocents supposedly murdered by Israel. Turns out it was a couple dozen terrorists: Spin alert]
2)They were not mainly stockbrockers in NY. There were fireman, janitors, visitors, etc. Yes, some big law firms, but they often vote democrat, even rich lawyers in NY are usually liberal.
3) The whole media made it sound like the city dodged a bullet after the storm came, because the actual hurricane wasn't as destructive as was feared. Only after the levee broke later did it gradually become clear the magnitude of the crisis. 9-11 was immediate and clear, so the comparison is not suitable, at least in the sense of immediate response.
4) With 9-11, New York city and its citizens responded. Bush made a great moral stand because it was an act of war. But he didn't save anyone in NY after that crisis. What he has done is secure that nation so no future attacks have occurred.
5) I think Bush does favor hard working people, black or white. I do. I can't speak for Bush but I think it is more tragic when people are trying their hardest, go to work to make an honest living, and get blown up, as opposed to the situation with many (not all) of the people here. The main difference is that these people had a warning. A very strong warning.
And if you say they "didn't have cars" I say "there were buses to evacuate them - but the black, demorcatic mayor didn't use them, so why blame Bush?"
Oh yea, and what is the approval rating of likely voters? I think you will see a significant difference as these people are more informed.
4 - John Bambenek
What's the approval rate of Mayor Nagin?
5 - Matt
John--who gives a shit? No one lives in New Orleans.
6 - Anthony Grande
I do not know what Bush should do. By law he cannot send troops or relief until the State gives him the request.
Mayor Nagin told Bush that there was no need for anymore National Guard and that New Orleans had plenty of food and water. But who blames Nagin??? No, we can't blame Nagin, because he is a black Democrat.
7 - Nick
To be precise, on 9/11 Bush was nowhere near the scene of the disaster. He panicked, did nothing, and was only dragged before the cameras a couple of days later. I think 40% over-evaluates Bush by some way. He has done nothing as a President except make hateful attacks on easiy victimized groups (gays etc), damage an economy by irresponsible budgeting, pander to the nastier instincts of his base, lie about an unnecessary and disastrous war in Iraq, and show a lack of integrity, courage and decency that should disqualify him from any responsible post.
8 - Karen
1 Potato, you are fried. You should go drown yourself in a bottle of ketchup and then throw your whole messy self in the trash compactor and turn it on.
9 - Nick
Karen - am I to take it that you disapprove of 1Potato?
10 - Dave Nalle
>>He has done nothing as a President except make hateful attacks on easiy victimized groups (gays etc)<<
Hey, that's an interesting fact. Maybe you'd like to share with us when and where and the specific wording of his attacks on easily victimized groups. Or just to make it easy, how about ONE example where he attacks gays.
Or wait, you could just admit that you're spreading lies and hate. You pick. Good luck.
Dave
11 - Nick
Dave, I think everyone is well aware of how George Bush has used the gay marriage issue to gain a few cheap votes from his base. If you remove your head from its current location and trying looking at the real world, you might actually see some facts. Until then, please follow the standard Neo-con line that it's all lies, lies, lies... after all, why should you actually think about anything?
12 - 1Potato
Karen:
I thought Democrats were smart and Republicans were stupid. Isn't that what they jammed down your throat in college (they did with me)?
So now is the time to refute my arguments with your superior intelligence instead of juvenile insults.
Or better yet, maybe it's time to finally realize that your professors ripped you (or your parents) off by indoctrinating you instead of educating you (like they did me). Does "question authority" only mean question those who liberal professors say you should quesion? Maybe, like I finally did, you should start to question them as well. I say all this because when responses sink to the level of yours, it shows that you are following an ideology more than engaging in a rational exchange. Some people who join cults are able to get out, others stay in forever. It takes a strong mind to go against ones priests/professors.
13 - Nick
1Potato - it takes a pretty terrifying mind to annihilate the apostrophe as well!
14 - Bill Frist's Stethoscope
1Potato - If I wrote something as nonsensical as "no future attacks have occurred" on a blog, I wouldn't come back later to brag about my erudition.
When you wrote "black, demorcatic mayor," were you so carried away with mentioning the mayor's race that you forgot how to spell the party with which he is affiliated?
Plus, your point #3, aside from being false in many respects, doesn't work too well with #5. You can't blame the victims for staying with such a catastrophe looming, while simultaneously giving Bush a pass because the catastrophe was unforeseeable.
And nothing you wrote explains the lackadaisical response of the federal government.
Perhaps you should expand your "question authority" enthusiasm to include the people who take the lives of millions of citizens into their hands, instead of limiting your rebellion, on so many levels, to the relatively powerless (and clearly ineffectual) people who tried to educate you.
15 - Markus Fors
The approval rating is by the way down to 38% now*. Where is the bottom for Bush? 30% or Nixon's 24%? Whatever it is, it's Karl Rove that is holding him up. If Karl have to do time behind bars or are removed in some other way and gas prices continues to climb we sure will see both houses turn blue and a new blue president. No doubts about that AT ALL!
*according to Newswire's pressrelease published on Newsweek can be found here
16 - Dave Nalle
>>Dave, I think everyone is well aware of how George Bush has used the gay marriage issue to gain a few cheap votes from his base.<<
Bush endorsed civil unions and has never said anything negative about gays as a group. He hasn't said they're evil, that they are bad moral examples, or that the Bible says to kill them. His support for civil unions is the same position Kerry took, and the position favored by the majority of the American people. Considering he's a Republican, that's a hell of a lot more than one might expect.
Dave
17 - steve
if kanye west was "in da house" he would say..oh ya "gawwwwg bush doesnt care bout gays eitha"
as a fellow conservative...I am very curious as to what bush thinks of gays. his actual, 100% non politician opinion