Damage Control

On Thursday evening, George Bush pre-empted important television to try to shore up his support with his kool-aide drinking minion base. It's clear that his Republican overlords are scared of rapidly declining poll numbers--they don't want Georgie's misfortunes to be tied around their necks, lest they lose some of their power in next year's congressional elections.

The media has been complicit in the brainwashing of average Americans, shilling for the White House by floating their lies under the cover of "anonymous officials". The Katrina Disasters (the flood and the bungled response) have jolted some reporters into action, finally asking pointed questions and refusing to be met with non-answers. The Bullshit Meters have finally started to peak and it looks like the editorial boards are sick of dealing with it:

From tomorrow's Washington Post:

Katrina has added an enormous new burden to a presidency already bending under the stresses of public dissatisfaction with Bush's policies in Iraq and growing anger over rising gas prices. Bush's objective last night was to set out a strategy and commitment for recovery along the Gulf Coast. But the critical question is whether the damage will limit his ability to govern effectively in the remaining 40 months of his presidency and whether he will successfully rebuild the Gulf Coast and Iraq, let alone win approval for other major initiatives on taxes and Social Security.

[snip]

There is nothing certain about the success he hopes to demonstrate. The rebuilding at Ground Zero in New York has taken four years, and although the work in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast will begin almost immediately, the scope of the reconstruction virtually guarantees debates and delays that could sap public patience. Already there are signs of a brewing battle between business and government elites and organizers working with those displaced over whose voices will be heard in shaping the reconstruction.

Second-term slumps hit every reelected president, but often they come later than this one. Bush has little time to waste to rejuvenate his governing capacity, given the reality that lame-duck status awaits him in the not-too-distant future. But just as it will take time to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, it may take many months for Bush to rebound from what now troubles his presidency. Given the added burdens of Iraq and the economy, the president's road to recovery "will be longer and more difficult," said Ross K. Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University.

What a waste of a presidential term. Here we are, less than a year from George's second inauguration (insert GERD attack here), and his followers are already experiencing buyers' remorse. Forgive me for having zero sympathy for their ire. Voting matters. If they would've been paying attention during the campaign, they would've seen this train wreck advancing toward us.

More response on Bush's sermon, from the New York Times:

The president forthrightly linked the failures in response to the storm to a vulnerability to a terrorist attack and said he wanted to know "all the facts" about what had gone wrong.

Mr. Bush called for unity in tackling the problems. But with only a camera before him, and New Orleans silent around him, he could draw no strength or self-assurance from the cheers of a united nation, as he did when he addressed a joint session of Congress nine days after the Sept. 11 attacks. Not only did his own stagecraft leave him alone in the spotlight, but whatever good will flowed to him across the aisle in those moments after the terrorist attacks is long gone, a victim of a polarized political culture that he did not create but to which he has often contributed.

For Mr. Bush, this was a moment for the country to turn away from what he and his aides have dismissively labeled "the blame game" toward a hopeful vision of a rebuilt Gulf Coast and a smarter government. But it is not yet clear that his performance will stanch the political wounds he has suffered or ensure that he can avoid being hobbled through his second term, not just by what he lost in the faltering response to Hurricane Katrina but by the rising death toll in Iraq, sky-high energy prices and worrisome deficits.

"Performance" is correct. The only reason this speech was scheduled was because he is tanking in the polls. It had nothing to do with Georgie owning up to the government's failure to protect its people. His model of leadership has failed and as a result, countless Americans have died. He is unfit for office, the charade is over, it's time for this great country to say 'No More Bullshit'!

Will you join the revolution?