Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Bush's Tipping Point

Over at Newsweek, Howard Fineman suggests that Katrina may be the moment the Bush Administration hit its "tipping point." He adds Katrina, and Bush's tepid response so far, to a litany of other key moments the President will face in the next month. Looking back he says, we will find that,

"...Katrina is just such a moment. We are a big, strong country—and New Orleans will, somehow, survive—but you do get the sense, as President Bush finally arrived here after a monthlong vacation, that a political hurricane is gathering force, and it’s going to hit the capital any day."

[...]

This is, literally, an invasion of the homeland, and it will require a warlike response from a nation and a military already stretched thin. National Guard officials insist that they have enough men and women on hand to do the job, but common sense tells you that they could use the others stationed abroad. The U.S. Navy is dispatching supply ships to the region, but battling the waters that cover the region will require many more resources."

Not long ago we gathered together some posts from other blogs and the print media. The title of the post was Accountability and Leadership. We have seen neither from the Bush Administration in this time of crisis. Fineman suggests that Bush will respond, but other than efforts in Florida last year, led primarily by his brother, George Bush has a great deal of trouble responding to the needs of real people.

This might just be the "tipping point" for the Bush Administration.