Ex-aides say Bush never recovered from Katrina

WASHINGTON (AP) - Hurricane Katrina not only pulverized the Gulf Coast in 2005, it knocked the bully pulpit out from under President George W. Bush, according to two former advisers who spoke candidly about the political impact of the government’s poor handling of the natural disaster.

“Katrina to me was the tipping point,” said Matthew Dowd, Bush’s pollster and chief strategist for the 2004 presidential campaign. “The president broke his bond with the public. Once that bond was broken, he no longer had the capacity to talk to the American public. State of the Union addresses? It didn’t matter. Legislative initiatives? It didn’t matter. P.R.? It didn’t matter. Travel? It didn’t matter.”

Dan Bartlett, former White House communications director and later counselor to the president, said: “Politically, it was the final nail in the coffin.”

Their comments are a part of an oral history of the Bush White House that Vanity Fair magazine compiled for its February issue, which hits newsstands in New York and Los Angeles on Wednesday, and nationally on Jan. 6. Vanity Fair published comments by current and former government officials, foreign ministers, campaign strategists and numerous others on topics that included Iraq, the anthrax attacks, the economy and immigration.

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Ex-aides say Bush never recovered from Katrina

I really don’t have anything to add to this story other than to express my belief that it’s probably pretty accurate. No individual comes to the presidency fully prepared and ready to assume the mantle all on their own. No person!

The fact that the Bush administration was going downhill after Katrina is fairly obvious. The war in Iraq wasn’t going well. The people of the *Chocolate City* were begging for more and sitting on their asses expecting the federal government to do it ALL for them. The Louisiana Army National Guard, the 256th BCT, went to Iraq as an armored unit, they came back as light infantry. The reason being, the DoD didn’t have the equipment to continue the prosecution of the war in Iraq.

The 256th, like all units, took their equipment to Iraq, and the DoD kept it for others to use, simply because they had no more in the federal stockpile to replace it! And even now, several years after the 256th was deployed to Iraq, they are still a Light Infantry unit, set to be redeployed to Iraq in a year or so.

I’m not going to use this piece to bash Bush, but I am going to say this: I did NOT support George W. Bush when he was elected the 1st time. I didn’t support Algore either, I was forced to do the thing I hate the most, I had to accept the lesser of 2 evils. I was pretty well *cold* on Bush until 9-11 occurred, at that point, some good old fashioned patriotism kicked in and I did my very best to get behind the guy, he was, after all, the President.

When Bush took the American military into Afghanistan I was forced to rethink my positions again. I was in full support of Bush and was beginning to believe that I had been much too harsh on the man and that perhaps there was a lot more to the man than ANY of us had seen.

Then he took us to Iraq. That was when I knew that my 1st impression had been correct. I was one of those folks that knew Iraq didn’t present the threats we were told it did. I knew that Saddam wasn’t directly responsible for 9-11, but I saw that Bush was seriously determined to have his way!

When the 2nd election came along I still felt that I was voting the lesser of the evils by voting for Bush over Kerry, but to be totally honest with you, I would have voted for ANYONE over that pompous ass John Kerry.

By standing up for MY beliefs this time, and by not voting for John McCain, I personally feel much better about myself. I can look myself in the eye and like the guy I see in the mirror. I also rest assured in knowing that those of us that voted a 3rd party candidate were such a minority that we in no way influenced Obama winning the 2008 election.

Is George W. Bush evil? I don’t think so, not EVIL. I think he was even more unprepared for the presidency than anyone thought. I believe he didn’t grow with the job and continued to act on HIS wishes and not on those of We, The People. History can judge him any way they like, but my biggest fear is that history will be obliterated in the coming catastrophe that this nation is sure to face. Bush may not be the worst president in history once it all plays out, history may be a lot more kind to him than I am, but the final vote isn’t in yet.

What I would give to be able to get a glimpse of this nation 200 years into the future!