Bush's Response To Horrific Disaster: Indifference. How Will You Respond To Bush?

We've got a lot of good arguments posted here from John and Rob and Joe and Chris. Use them, add your own and start writing letters to the editor of your local newspapers, tv stations and radio outlets -- not to mention your elected representatives.

-- President Bush staying on vacation when EVERYONE knew a massive hurricane was getting ready to strike

-- President Bush flogging politics AFTER the hurricane destroyed New Orleans and Biloxi; the President joshing with McCain over birthday cake while the waters were rising

-- President Bush's father sending 25,000 troops after Hurricane Andrew. Either his dad was WASTING time and money or W is falling far short of his father. Again.

-- President Bush pushing a joke of an energy bill that did NOTHING to decrease our dependence on foreign oil, nothing significant to develop alternative fuels and nothing to strengthen our infrastructure. Now we can see how vulnerable it is since one storm is impacting our nation's ability to refine oil.

-- President Bush going back to Texas for another night of vacation instead of going straight to the White House AFTER the disaster struck.

--President Bush jamming on the guitar while the disaster worsens.

-- President Bush finally, grudgingly ending his vacation two days early and going back to DC. If he can stay in touch in Texas, why go back, as John says? If he needs to be back in DC, what the hell took so long?

-- President Bush's backdoor draft that abused the compact between the country and the brave men and women who volunteered for the National Guard and Army Reserve has damaged them for decades to come. Many fewer people leaving the Army are going to volunteer for these groups in the future. And this natural disaster reminds us all of how vital they are.

-- Widespread looting that one observer said made New Orleans look like downtown Baghdad. How many times can Bush turn a bad situation into a disaster before people start catching on?

-- The Coast Guard is saving lives left and right. They are perennially underfunded but President Bush has given the Coast Guard massive new responsibilities to guard our coasts, inspect ships and more all while helping in emergencies like this. So in a post 9-11 world, his attempt to DELAY for DECADES the essential upgrading of the Coast Guard's ships that date to the Vietnam and Korean war is offensive and inexcusable. How would you like to watch your grandmother clinging for her life and find out the boat struggling to get to her is decrepit and unfit? That's what Bush is doing to the Coast Guard.

-- Every time Bush praises the Coast Guard and National Guard and Army Reserves for behaving heroically during this disaster, he insults our intelligence. Bush has delayed providing decent equipment to the Coast Guard even AFTER 9-11. Bush has abused the National Guard and Reserve and likely crippled them for decades to come by turning them into de facto regular army troops when their real purpose is to defend this country AT HOME and come to the rescue during disasters like this. And Bush has repeatedly underfunded and undermined these essential groups again and again and again.

I've looked through 10-20 newspaper websites from the US and overseas and naturally all of them are dealing with the unfolding disaster. But what will the Day 2 (or Day 3) story be? When will they stop blandly reporting the President talked about the hurricane while dawdling in California? When will they stop politely reporting the President is cutting his record-breaking five week vacation short and heading back to DC? When will they start asking why it took Bush so long to pay attention to a disaster everyone could see coming -- even AFTER it struck?

You need to WRITE YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPERS AND TV STATIONS AND RADIO STATIONS. Simple, common sense questions (Why did the President go to California to push some political agenda when the worst natural disaster in our nation's history had already struck?); anger; comparing Bush's inability to see disaster here to his inability to see disaster in Iraq -- it's all important and needs to be expressed sensitively and smartly, all while keeping in mind that people are dying. But that's just it -- people are dying and Bush is falling short. It would be wrong NOT to comment on that. Fill their inboxes with these ideas. They won't all get printed but they will inspire story ideas, editorials and maybe give the MSM a little backbone to ask some tough questions.

And no, we are not politicizing a terrible disaster.

BUSH played politics with this disaster by leaving our country woefully unprepared thanks to his unnecessary war in Iraq.

BUSH played politics by dawdling in Texas when this massive storm was brewing, just like he dawdles in DC while Iraq sinks further into despair.

BUSH played politics by going to California to flog some attack on Medicare and lie again by pretending Iraq and 9-11 are linked all when the waters were rising, looting was spreading and people were dying.

And BUSH will be playing politics when he gets offended after people finally ask the obvious question: What the hell took him so long?

How can anyone look at the image of Bush goofily strumming a guitar while the waters are rising and people are dying and not get angry? So make a donation to the Red Cross and then start writing those letters.