http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/04/AR2005090400597.htmlThe first week of September 2005 likely will be remembered as one of the most troubled weeks of George W. Bush's presidency, a time in which natural disaster combined with bureaucratic bungling in ways that threatened to inundate an administration already on the defensive.
Even before Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast last Monday, Bush was buffeted by public dissatisfaction over the war in Iraq and consumer outrage over rising gasoline prices. But the federal government's widely criticized response to the hurricane's devastation in New Orleans and elsewhere turned a challenging environment into one that is potentially overwhelming.
His success in undoing the negative perceptions of the past few days could be critical to sustaining the political capital necessary to achieve other objectives of his second term -- from avoiding further erosion of support for his Iraq policies to domestic initiatives yet to come.
One goal is the reshaping of the federal judiciary, and the death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist late Saturday presents Bush with the second opportunity in two months to put his stamp on the high court. It also adds to the burdens of an already besieged White House.