AP: "Response to Katrina poses chances for Bush"

[sabra]

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/breaking_news/12526096.htm

Response to Katrina poses chances for Bush

WASHINGTON - President Bush, who crafted a take-charge image from the Sept. 11 attacks, faces a stiff challenge in responding to Hurricane Katrina.

Cutting short his vacation and marshaling the power of the federal government could help reverse his sliding job approval rating. But the president's hands-on approach looks a bit too political for some, and makes him an easy target should Katrina's victims start looking for somebody to blame during the long, costly road to recovery.

In purely political terms, the question is whether Bush can live up to the tough, can-do image he cultivated after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Or whether he falls short of expectations and pays a political price, as his father did after Hurricane Andrew slammed Florida in 1992.

"There is a sense here that he's still the 9/11 president, and could bring the same magic here," said Elliott Stonecipher, an independent political consultant from Shreveport, La.

[Erika]

1. Don't forget he denied funding to study and improve levees

in New Orleans.

[TroglodyteScholar]

8. He also fought tooth and nail...

...against funding anti-terrorism measures prior to 9/11, against establishing the DHS, and against investingating 9/11...

But still, somehow, a lot of people see him as a great leader in troubled times. Unbelievable.

[Erika]

15. Some need to have a Savior on Earth

and they think it is W. After all, Pat Robertson said W was appointed by God.

[trackfan]

31. "..crafted a take charge image" MY ASS!

He fucking HID. I remember actually - that one time - almost feeling sorry for him because he seemed so scared, clueless, and in way over his head.

[Botany]

2. The speech should have been made 2 days ago ......

..... now ASSHAT comes in to act like he is in charge and cares.

clueless

[6000eliot]

21. 9/11 was a Tuesday

The chimp didn't show his face in NYC until Friday. Same as it ever was.

[BigMcLargehuge]

3. to

...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4532795&mesg_id=4533011

[jsamuel]

4. Hands on?! THE HURRICANE HIT ON SUNDAY!!! IT IS WEDNESDAY!

[Roland99]

9. Actually...it hit Sunday

;)

[jsamuel]

10. stupid me

[geomon666]

16. The eye hit land Monday morning n/t

[jsamuel]

17. oh, haha, your right

[eleny]

5. Being president is supposed to be the chance for an individual

What the hell is the AP talking about? If this is what it takes for * to be someone of value - it's too damned late.

[qanda]

6. I see the media got their marching orders

And are falling right in line. Give me a break-- this is beyond sickening. Thousands of people may be dead and all they can concern themselves with is how this can improve Bush's poll numbers.

[Hobarticus]

7. Well, hell...how do you bomb a dissipated hurricane?

No wonder he doesn't know what to do.

[GreenPartyVoter]

27. But you don't gut the disaster funds and you don't send the

NATIONAL Guard on INTERnational missions.

That mighta helped somewhat.

[JHB]

11. "poses chances"?

I've never heard that particular formulation before. Anyone else?

[raysr]

40. Media trying to

bump his #'s for him?? Is that what they're doing?

[Canadiana]

12. Oh the MAGIC that was 9/11!

If only we could re-live that *sigh*

[jsamuel]

14. I know right? It is like the media wants this to be 9/11... wants

[faithnotgreed]

29. yes - those were the days were they not

sick
sick
sick
the lot of them

[dogday]

13. Maybe he can walk on water in NO nt

[chomskysright]

18. Run on the gas in Asheville, NC: another thread on DU

There's a run on gasoline in Asheville, NC and I bet this is not isolated. Here's out quickening moment. Bush, the Oil Man, is completely vulnerable and perhaps this is his narcissitic moment when he goes down.

I just put up 2 huge fluorescent green signs:

OUT OF GAS? KEEP VOTING FOR THOSE REPUBLICANS

...and yelled it out to anyone who would listen as the desperation increased at the gas pumps.

[djg21]

19. From another forum: on Bush being MIA (AWOL?). . . yet again.

In response to a post pointing out that Bush couldn't be blamed for the hurricane:

I generally agree.

That being said, I can be angered by the fact that Bush has been "missing in action" since the Hurricane first hit shore in the early hours of Monday Morning. No doubt, he was off on vacation, finally making his way through My Pet Goat, or doing something equally useful down in Crawford with his Potemkin ranch and his rented cattle. Either that, or he was playing hide and seek with Cindy Sheehan.

Now, three days later, he swoops in for a few photo ops, and he'll finally address the country in a few minutes, and ask them to start conserving natural resources (duh -- this request should have been made years ago!). This is hardly unexpected. He did virtually the same thing after 9/11. And the mainstream media, as it did after 9/11, no doubt will begin crowing about how Presidential the idiot acted after this natural tragedy, despite his glaring absence.

By now, you would think that federal troops would have been sent in to assist in keeping order. Both local authorities and the LA Nat'l Guard are demonstrably undermanned and overwhelmed, and local authorities reportedly have been begging for assistance from the federal government. It was just reported that the Navy is finally sailing a hospital ship and some relief supplies from Baltimore and VA. Let's see, a Cat 5 hurricane was aiming for NOLA LAST WEEK. You don't think that the ships could have at least started on their way wehen it became obvious that NOLA was in real trouble?

The federal response has been entirely inadequate, and while you can't blame this administration for Katrina, there is no justification for its entirely deficient response.

[Cleita]

20. He stands a good chance all right, a good chance of being

impeached for a change.

[graywarrior]

22. WTF? This ain't ABOUT him! It's about citizens of the US.

Why do they continue to place their lips upon his ass? Jesus Mary & Joseph.

[fishwax]

23. do they not remember 9/11, and how we didn't hear from * until 9/13?

kinda like the hurricane. katrina hits land on sunday night/monday morning, and now on wednesday evening he's kind enough to let us know that there's been some damage.

take charge my ass ...

[TrogL]

24. Where are the "bush plucked" political cartoons?

[bpilgrim]

25. does the M$MWs sense another TRIFECTA moment?

http://news.globalfreepress.com/mp3/trifecta.mp3

more...
http://news.globalfreepress.com/trifecta

peace

[GreenPartyVoter]

26. He already f'ed it up. Chance is gone now.

[rzemanfl]

28. An "independent political consultant" is just a whore looking for

a john.

[Pithy Cherub]

30. * is SOL now! That was the most MORANIC

speech at a critical time in our nation's history. FUBAR! He mailed t in with a report of what already happened - what a MORAN that is running this country into the fucking ground!

[stanwyck]

32. For someone so proud of his fitness level

Bush's reaction time is amazingly slow. Overweight, burger-snarfing Clinton had much better reflexes when it came to national tragedies. Bush has to be physically prodded to cut his vacation short...by TWO DAYS. Thank you, Wolf Blitzer, for reminding us of the huge sacrifice the president is making while Americans are dying. Two days from the president who has taken more time off than any president. Ever.

[kbm8795]

33. I doubt that dropping copies of

"My Pet Goat" is exactly what the evacuees need.

[LincolnMcGrath]

34. "President Bush, who crafted a take-charge image from the Sept. 11"

The Keyword Here: "CRAFTED"

[Vinca]

35. Magic? MAGIC???? What a nutty thing to say.

The only magic I'd like to see from Shrub is a disappearing act.

[gatorboy]

36. Oh yes, the MAGIC of 9/11!

9/11: The Musical! Feeeeel the magic! :puke:

[Solly Mack]

37. what the fuck is Stonecipher smoking?

[Cha]

38. Rot gut weed! n/t

[Kool Kitty]

39. This could bring some "magic" for Bush?

Who wrote this, Rove? Oh, if only we could have one huge catastrophe a month, the magic would just roll on and on! Are they fucking kidding? "..crafted a take-charge image" my fat ass. Stop lowering the expectations for this poor excuse for a man, let alone a president. His response to this disaster was just like his response to 9-11, the only thing missing was a copy of "The Pet Goat". He's a do-nothing, know-nothing weakling.

[tom_paine]

41. It's just so goddamned creepy how almost ALL AP article are written

using "Gingrich's Contrasting words"

Bush, you see "faces challenges"

Another story (sorry, no link) was "Democrats 'seek to capitalize'".

A Bush PR Whore's wet dream, I tell. And it is almost literally true now that all things serve the Emperor.

Is it corrupt Bushevik AP editors that do this "Prudenizing" (probably).

In either case, it is almost 100% of the AP articles in which the most-positive PR words are reserved for Republicans while the most negative are reserved for Democrats.

This Orwellian disease has permeated and burrow so deeply into almost every line of communication in America, can we ever escape it?

Here's to hope...the last thing to come out of Pandora's Box.