The Carterization of W

Record high gas prices, talk of a gas shortage, and a foreign policy that is incompetently executed.  All that is missing is double digit interest rates and runaway inflation.  But substitute that for the administration's inability to rescue the citizens trapped in New Orleans.  Let's see, do we have busses?  Helicopters?  Food and water?  Well, not fast enough to save the poor SOBs who didn't get out of The Big Easy on time.  Hurricane Katrina was coming, we all saw it coming on Sunday.  Its Friday and there are still people stuck at the Superdome?  Still people stuck on their rooftops?  How many will have died because the help isn't getting there?  This was only a hurricane!  What if we had been attacked by terrorists?  After 9/11, we endured the Patriot Act and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.  Many of us went along with the president on Iraq.  He said the WMD were there.  Colin Powell went to the UN and said they were there, too.  Then none were found -- and granted, Saddam was playing cat and mouse with the weapons inspectors, and everyone thought he was hiding something.  But this post isn't about the incompetence of the Bush administration in executing the invasion and occupation of Iraq.  It is about the Bush administration's incompetence in general, and now, in particular, in the handling of the storm damage in New Orleans, Biloxi, and along the Gulf coast.  Once again, the government is caught with its pants down.  The government is ready if a terrorist wants to try bringing box-cutters on a plane again.  But for anything else, forget it.  I keep thinking, why aren't we flying every helicopter we can get our hands on down to New Orleans to (1) drop food and water, and then (2) rescue these poor bastards???  Then I think of Carter's legendary helicopter rescue attempt of the Iranian hostages.  Bush would find a way to screw this pooch too. For me, it is settled.  Bush is the new Carter.  Except without the warmth or integrity.  Jimmy had Billy, George has Neil.  Jimmy had his peanut farm, George has the ranch.  Jimmy would never tell a lie, George can barely talk.  And now George is telling us to conserve gas!  How soon before we have 55mph speed limit forced upon us again?  Or some similarly drastic measure?