Bush Never Recovered From Katrina

(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 catastrophic 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.

Lawrence Wilkerson, top aide and later chief of staff to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, said that as a new president, Bush was like Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee whom critics said lacked knowledge about foreign affairs. When Bush first came into office, he was surrounded by experienced advisers like Vice President Dick Cheney and Powell, who Wilkerson said ended up playing damage control for the president.

"It allowed everybody to believe that this Sarah Palin-like president - because, let's face it, that's what he was - was going to be protected by this national-security elite, tested in the cauldrons of fire," Wilkerson said, adding that he considered Cheney probably the "most astute, bureaucratic entrepreneur" he'd ever met.

"He became vice president well before George Bush picked him," Wilkerson said of Cheney. "And he began to manipulate things from that point on, knowing that he was going to be able to convince this guy to pick him, knowing that he was then going to be able to wade into the vacuums that existed around George Bush - personality vacuum, character vacuum, details vacuum, experience vacuum."

On other topics, David Kuo, who served as deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, disputed the idea that the Bush White House was dominated by religious conservatives and catered to the needs of a religious right voting bloc.

"The reality in the White House is - if you look at the most senior staff - you're seeing people who aren't personally religious and have no particular affection for people who are religious-right leaders," Kuo said.

"In the political affairs shop in particular, you saw a lot of people who just rolled their eyes at ... basically every religious-right leader that was out there, because they just found them annoying and insufferable. These guys were pains in the butt who had to be accommodated."

[mitch5511]

hillaryin016...

Ignorance is definitely your forte''! LOL

[ofbyfor3]

To the posters that are claiming that this is all a Liberal attempt at Bush-bashing, read the details of who is being quoted in this article:

''Matthew Dowd, Bush''s pollster and chief strategist for the 2004 presidential campaign''

''Dan Bartlett, former White House communications director and later counselor to the president''

''Lawrence Wilkerson, top aide and later chief of staff to former Secretary of State Colin Powell''

''David Kuo, who served as deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives''

They were Bush''s OWN PEOPLE!

[blitzder]

The real irony is, had it not been for the utter corruption and devastation of the country by Bush/Cheney groupies/cronies, OBAMA would not be where he is.

Amazing to see neo-cons/racists/religo-nuts/militarists/Lumbaugh fanatics etc. all have a hand in getting a negro into the White House. Stupid is as stupid gets....???

[ddaymichael]

Both Blair and Bush share equally in the stupidity of pushing their country into invading Iraq, a nation that had absolutely NOTHING to do with the events on 09/11/01.
Posted by Voultron

***********************

NOT SO!

Blair will forever be reviled & derided throughout history as one who allowed a lying, theiving, murdering traitor of an imbecele like George W. Bush to do his thinking for him.

That has got to be as bad as a legacy can get.

[irmcvet971]

Boy you must think I do not watch these boards. Now since I have never had a issue with you I will warn you, I am not one to be nasty too

Posted by DJ_Houston at 12:30 AM : Dec 31, 2008

LOL Right! If you are nasty to him he''ll pull out his Confederate Battle Flag Pin, rub it very hard and wish bad things upon you! ROFLMAO Who you kidding Sparky!! ROFLMAO

[irmcvet971]

people should be ashamed to support EITHER PARTY....they have lied about ALL this bailout mess and are robbing the country by giving money to corporate America to repay lobby dollar debts,,,,,it is nothing less than treason and the American public needs to wake up...NEITHER PARTY represents you they are white collar ,suit and tie terrorists.

Posted by tincup356 at 10:54 PM : Dec 30, 2008

The Political Parties are NO DIFFERENT than we are.. they ARE and are representative of THIS NATION. there are good and bad in all of us and the same is true of the Parties. I have know some very good Republican''s although I tend to like Democrats more. I couldn''t stand Southern Fascist when they were in the Democrat Party and now that the Republicans have taken them in AFTER the Democrats kicked them out, I still have a deep hatred for them. Now THOSE are the people and the Party we need to trash!!! FOREVER!

[irmcvet971]

Bush lost me when he flew from Crawford TX to Washington DC specifically to try to compel Congress to force his fundie worldview on a poor woman who was a brain-dead vegetable ready to die. Being old myself I decided right then to execute a Durable Power of Attorney to make sure I am allowed to depart in peace rather than having religious fanatics take control of me when I am helpless to resist them. Bush set aside statesmanship to act as our unelected preacher-in-chief and I lost all sympathy for him then. We will be well rid of him.


Posted by fra59e at 02:59 AM : Dec 31, 2008

That two was a very defining moment for me as well. For him and the Fascist Republican''s to us the Iron Boot of the Federal Government to interfer with one family and the family courts just to appease ONE Religious God Father was NOT acceptable. A bigger moment for me, as a Combat Vet, was when he continued to support Falwell/Robertson after they tried to place blame on those who they didn''t agree with politically for 9/11. THAT was the most disgusting thing I had ever seen in my 60 years, bar NONE!!

[fra59e]

Bush lost me when he flew from Crawford TX to Washington DC specifically to try to compel Congress to force his fundie worldview on a poor woman who was a brain-dead vegetable ready to die. Being old myself I decided right then to execute a Durable Power of Attorney to make sure I am allowed to depart in peace rather than having religious fanatics take control of me when I am helpless to resist them. Bush set aside statesmanship to act as our unelected preacher-in-chief and I lost all sympathy for him then. We will be well rid of him.

[centerfall94]

* Bill Clinton lies about having an affair. Result: he''''s brought to trial and nearly kicked out of office.

* Richard Nixon conspires to cover up a break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters. Result: he''''s forced to resign just before he would have been booted from the presidency.

* George W. Bush invades a sovereign country while lying to the American people and the United Nations. He breaks the Geneva Conventions, illegally wiretaps American citizens, and commits treason by allowing or encouraging the outing of a CIA agent (among other extra curricular activities). Result: nothing more than *** approval ratings.


Posted by IOWEIGN at 09:50 PM : Dec 30, 2008

Precisely. The embarrassment of the GW Bush presidency will continue to weigh on the public, and once he''s out of power I predict that we''ll find out more about his complicit criminal activity. I expect Bush and Cheney will be at the Hague at this time next year. If not, then they certainly should be.

[tincup356]

people should be ashamed to support EITHER PARTY....they have lied about ALL this bailout mess and are robbing the country by giving money to corporate America to repay lobby dollar debts,,,,,it is nothing less than treason and the American public needs to wake up...NEITHER PARTY represents you they are white collar ,suit and tie terrorists.