FLAIT

The Republican Party's bread and butter over the years has always been their relentless attacks on "big government." In fact, conservative activist Grover Norquist said he wants to "shrink government down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."

George Bush and the GOP are in the process of fulfilling that goal - also described as "starving the beast" - because they've been cutting the budgets of government agencies and programs (while handing out feckless tax cuts in a time of not one, but two wars).

However, this myopic attitude has obvious drawbacks: when government is needed and called upon, it doesn't have the resources to respond effectively.

But this is the strategy of the GOP: cut funding and resources so when government fails, it reinforces their rhetoric that "big government" is bad and doesn't work (you think it's an accident that the lines at the DMV are so long?). March, 2009 insert: Told ya.

It's ironic that we can now look at a "bathtub" in New Orleans and see the consequences of Norquist's sanctimonious objective. But when the party in power doesn't believe in government and they systematically dismantle an agency such as FEMA - and its first director in this administration was a Bush crony who said FEMA "evolved into an oversized entitlement program" who later handed the job to his unqualified incompetent college roomate - it will inevitably fail; and create cynical anti-government Republican voters in the process.

But we didn't get to this point by stubborn narrow-minded ideology alone (which is designed to keep its conservative base riled up). It's also due to a total lack of leadership, competence, accountability, foresight, and even imagination.

We've all read the stories that President Bush cut funding to levee restoration projects in New Orleans despite warnings that the city was at risk. We also learned that he reversed President Clinton's policy and opened Louisiana's wetlands to development.

But in all fairness, even if full funding was allocated, it's unlikely that the levee projects would have been completed before Katrina. And it's unknown how much protection the lost wetlands would have provided in a storm like this.

But if nothing else, this should prove once and for all that Bush is not only incapable of practical thought - or any thought for that matter - it proves that he doesn't give a damn about anyone. And why should he? He knows that whenever his arrogant incompetence gets the country into trouble, the Republican base and FOX News are there to spin for him.

In typical knee-jerk fashion, they're trying desperately to push blame onto Mayor Nagin and Gov. Blanco (despite the GOP labeling itself the "party of responsibility," it always has to be someone else's fault.). And they're right, to a point. How they could open the Superdome as a shelter without local authority, food and water, at least for a few days, is disgraceful to say the least. However, the city and state didn't have the resources for long-term relief. That's why we have FEMA and a National Guard. It was up to the federal government to provide organization, leadership and aid. But they failed miserably and dropped the ball on the foot of every person that stayed in New Orleans.

With a hurricane of this magnitude, it obviously would have made sense to mobilize the National Guard and Red Cross and stockpile tons of supplies in staging areas in Arkansas and eastern Texas before the storm. So when Katrina moved out, everything could have moved in.

It also would have made sense to coordinate a post storm evacuation plan.

But Bush didn't have time to lead or monitor that massive undertaking - made more difficult with the National Guard off on a wild goose chase in Iraq - because he was on vacation. And yet, he found the time to fly to San Diego to spin his disaster in Iraq (maybe if there was a brain dead women in New Orleans that had her feeding tube removed by court order, or if the Presidential election was this November instead of last November, he would have responded to this hurricane with the urgency it required).

But we shouldn't be surprised at Bush's passive response to an emergency.

Despite various warnings and indications to a possible terrorist attack in 2001, Bush went fishing. In 2003 - two years after 9/11 - our cities and states still did not have the money or resources to deal with a terrorist attack. And on the fourth anniversary of 9/11, they still don't. And keep in mind, this disaster in New Orleans could have resulted by terrorists blowing up the levees during a Gulf Coast rainstorm.

Incredibly, when Bush finally did react to this catastrophe, he decided spin was more important then anything else because he had the nerve to repeatedly use the same word he uses over and over again to spin his disaster in Iraq: "progress" (that sound you hear is President Truman spinning in his grave...again).

The fact that he'd use that word while thousands were on the street waiting for buses that never showed up - without food, water, bathrooms or security - illustrates just how clueless he is.

As to the storms effect on gas prices, Bush smirked and simply said "if you don't need gas, don't buy it." And in his photo-op in Mobile, he was biting his inner lip and had his arms folded while sniffing to control a runny nose.

This is the President of the United States? He looks more like a confused nine year old that's been left back in the first grade...twice.

And to think his conservative base is out there defending him.

With a straight face, Bush had the balls to declare that his administration are "problem solvers." But the fact is, in over four years as President, Bush has defied the odds because he's not only been wrong on everything he's done, he couldn't have been more wrong on everything he's done!

Oh wait, he was right once:

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
- President Bush, Aug. 5, 2004

You couldn't have summed up your pathetic administration any better then that, Mr. President.