NYT's Maureen Dowd: A Fatal Incuriosity

[Pirate Smile]

-snip-
President Bush continued to try to spin his own inaction yesterday, but he may finally have reached a patch of reality beyond spin. Now he's the one drowning, unable to rescue himself by patting small black children on the head during photo-ops and making scripted attempts to appear engaged. He can keep going back down there, as he will again on Thursday when he gives a televised speech to the nation, but it will never compensate for his tragic inattention during days when so many lives could have been saved.

He made the ultimate sacrifice and admitted his administration had messed up, something he'd refused to do through all of the other screw-ups, from phantom W.M.D. and the torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo to the miscalculations on the Iraq occupation and the insurgency, which will soon claim 2,000 young Americans.

How many places will be in shambles by the time the Bush crew leaves office?

Given that the Bush team has dealt with both gulf crises, Iraq and Katrina, with the same deadly mixture of arrogance and incompetence, and a refusal to face reality, it's frightening to think how it will handle the most demanding act of government domestic investment since the New Deal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/14/opinion/14dowd.html?hp

[Pirate Smile]

1. Last line:

"The president should stop haunting New Orleans, looking for that bullhorn moment. It's too late."

[merci_me]

3. BINGO!!! recommended!!

[goclark]

2. Go Maureen! Speak

"deadly mixture of arrogance and incompetence"

[scarletwoman]

4. GREAT ending line!

The president should stop haunting New Orleans, looking for that bullhorn moment. It's too late.

Amen.

(or 'Ramen', for the Pastafarians among us. ;-) )

sw

[dooner]

16. yep, she nailed it. n.t

[Booster]

5. Maureen has really come around to the light and I am delighted.

She's really one of the most gifted writers out there and her last couple of articles have hit Bushco right where it hurts. This is definitely a must read article - also nominated.

[antonialee839]

6. I still can't get over the fact that Bartlett had to make a DVD

for the boy king to watch. I wonder if it was narrated by Barney the Dinosaur?

[Skittles]

8. YUP

OMG IT'S SO FREAKING SAD YOU SOUND SO DAMN CREDIBLE! :D And the DVD itself - it showed stuff THE REST OF THE NATION HAD ALREADY SEEN ON TV

[Skittles]

9. duplicate eom

[rodeodance]

12. thats his job--condense any news--present it as a package-the news

of the day.

[ClayZ]

7. Oh, she says it well, again. n/t

:spank:

:kick:

[Catchawave]

10. I bet she reads DU :)

Every line she writes has been discussed in great detail over the past year. Feels so good to be right in the eyes of the MSM :loveya:

Imus is discussing her artcle now with David Gregory.

[NNadir]

11. You know, I used to be pissed off at Maureen, for treating politics

in terms of fashion - all that stuff about Al Gore's suit - but she's hitting pretty hard now. Suddenly she's gone from catty to scathing. She's no Frank Rich, but she's getting there.

I think that for everyone, columnists to the average Joe on the street, the level of disgust is stripping away our previous more pedestrian concerns.

[rodeodance]

13. well, Maureen we know how Jr is going this. He links Katrina and War

on terror to ask more power from Congress. He did it last time with the Patriot Act and looks like he will do it again.

Given that the Bush team has dealt with both gulf crises, Iraq and Katrina, with the same deadly mixture of arrogance and incompetence, and a refusal to face reality, it's frightening to think how it will handle the most demanding act of government domestic investment since the New Deal.

[rodeodance]

14. tell her thanks--E-mail: [e-mail]

[seafan]

15. Kick. n/t

[grasswire]

17. book him, Danno!

Isn't Bush criminally liable for the deaths of hundreds of people? If the nursing home operators are indictable, surely Bush is. Cuff him!

[LibraLiz1973]

18. really great piece- everyone should read & mail to friends

[bobbieinok]

19. like this, but can never forget her constant attacks on Gore and 0 vs W

[PurityOfEssence]

20. History has already spoken on this

Even he knows it: he fucked up. Regardless what the Governor or Mayor did or didn't do, he is the one who wanted sweeping powers over the country, was granted them, and blew it bigtime.

Non-reactionaries should continue to harass him a bit on this, but not fixate on it. The monarchists will spin and evade, but the more they do so, the worse they look. I hope they try to foist off blame on everyone; it just makes them look even more dishonest and cowardly.

Already, the spectacle of Junior actually admitting a mistake has captured the world's attention. This alone is defeat for these strutting nobodies of privilege.