Katrina started downward slide for Bush, advisers say
In all the recriminations and reviews of the Bush presidency, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and subsequent Iraq war have loomed large.
But according to some confidantes of the president, the turning point of the eight years was the government's inept response to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast and New Orleans in particular in 2005. That started Bush's downward slide to what are now historically low approval ratings.
"Katrina to me was the tipping point," Matthew Dowd, Bush's pollster and chief strategist for the 2004 presidential campaign, told Vanity Fair magazine. "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."
"Politically, it was the final nail in the coffin," agreed Dan Bartlett, former White House communications director and later counselor to the president.
They spoke for an "oral history" article in Vanity Fair's February issue, which hits newsstands in New York and Los Angeles on Wednesday and nationally on Jan. 6. The article includes commentary from current and former government officials, foreign ministers, campaign strategists, and others on topics including Iraq, the economy, and immigration, the Associated Press.
In another interesting interview noted by the AP, Lawrence Wilkerson, top aide and later chief of staff to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, compared Bush to Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the GOP vice presidential nominee, in their lack of foreign policy knowledge and experience. Wilkerson argued that Bush's failing opened the door to Vice President Dick Cheney increasing his power over foreign affairs.
"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 writes in the magazine, saying of Cheney: "He became vice president well before George Bush picked him. 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."
In a series of recent exit interviews, Bush and Cheney have struck markedly different tones. The president has expressed some regrets, saying he was "unprepared" for war, but Cheney has been steadfast, even defiant, on issues such as the war on terror, which critics say has stolen civil liberties at home and damaged the US reputation abroad.
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The historically bad Katrina response from Democrat Governor and Democrat New Orleans Mayor set the state for all Katrina failures. Never in US history as a mayor or governor performed worse.
The media decided to cover for the governor and mayor by putting ALL blame on the federal government which is always the follow-up responder to such situations.
So while Bush's strategist may have a point... he leaves out that everything that went wrong in America, even where only democrats were in charge, was blamed on Bush. So let history filter out the liberal 24/7 disinformation campaign and we'll see quite a different picture 10 years from now.
Of course... that same distortion machine that blamed everything on Bush, is about to reverse gear and protect president Obama. Nothing that goes in the next four years will be blamed on Obama by the media and Democrats.
Double standards? Of course... and it is this double standard that divides this great country today.
He could have apologized for screwing it up, and the public would have forgiven him and given him more room to run. Instead, in typical George W. Bush fashion, he just used the denial technique that he and his friends have been so famous for. He said that Michael Brown did a great job, he just denied it all. It's his fault. If some of these guys will admit their mistakes, the public will give them a break. You would think they would learn.
Katrina may have been the final nail in the coffin, but he started to climb into the casket when he failed to vigorously pursue Osama bin Laden, and instead decided to invade Iraq on patently false pretenses looking for an easy victory.
he should have flown down to N.O. and drove all those buses that stood there unused. government from top to bottom screwed up...lets see if the national media says anything negative about Obama...
Why doesn’t anyone talk about the refugee crisis Bush created by invading Iraq? It is the 2nd largest refugee crisis in modern history (next to Israel in the early 50's).
Who cares? We should -- because said refugee camps are stricken with almost 100% unemployment and are a perfect breeding ground for Islamic jihads.
Bush's downward slide started when he was "elected" in 2000.
THERE NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN A WAR.THIS WASS CREATED UNDER FALSE PRETENSES.THERE HAS BEEN UNNEEDED DESTRUCTIION,AND WORST OF ALL LOSS OF LIVES THAT CAN NOT BE BROUGHT BACK.
Spot on observations! Time often softens history's record of men in power, but I think the opposite will be true of Bush & Cheney, especially Cheney.
....and this guy was elected TWICE??!! That's sad...
Vanity Fair's feb issue which hits newsstands in New York and Los Angeles on Wednesday and nationally on Jan. 6. They do this with movies as well. Its irritating and another reason to hate these cities.
South Street Johnny hates because he has nothing to live for except the latest issue of Vanity Fair and he is jealous of those who get to read it before him.
Can't argue a single point here. Dubya's administration rubbed me the wrong way when no WMD's were found in Iraq. It was then obvious they (Dubya and cronies) were, and until the inaug. still are, manipulative liars with a lack of respect for the constitution and their own positions. Or is that the definition of "politician"?
I suspect history will show Cheney as THE Puppet-Master and Dubya as THE Puppet.
The Bush supporters here are missing the point. Yes the democrats in charge in New Orleans blew it in a lot of ways. But very early on it was clear that the Mayor and the Gov were completely overwhelmed. The Mayor kept begging for help from the Feds. The comments here are spot on that if Bush had been a man and been blunt about the problems everyone would have rallied behind him - like they did after 9-11. But instead he did his fly-by and sat on his hands. The time that passed proved to be disasterous and there was no coming back. Remember - this was a MAJOR U.S. CITY being destroyed - not some river flood somewhere in the farmland.
There is a reason why Mayor Nagen was re-elected. He admitted his errors and has continues to work to re-build the city. He blew it in a lot of ways but he was always out there trying to do SOMETHING.
Lastly, if you think Obama is going to get a pass from the press for 4 years you are high. Say what you will about Clinton but the press was all over him for his entire term. All presidents are hammered by the press. It is their job to get viewers/readers. That doesn't happen with fluff pieces. Remember - Obama is not even in office yet and they are trying to hit him with the Illinois governor scandal even though the US Attorney said it had nothing to do with Obama.
You people think Katrina was an event that happened the last week of August 2005. My Katrina has lasted years as I watched my city of New Orleans and my mother's home in MS lay in devastation with NO help from the government we pay taxes to. YEARS!!!! I cannot explain the anger and the hurt I still feel towards this country. I cannot tell you how many tears I have cried. And before you true believers tell me to be self reliant, I have volunteered in 3 communities in 2 states. I have gutted homes, churches and schools. I have cleared debris from parks. I have volunteered thousands of dollars in free dental work. I supported businesses while America decided if it was ok to visit New Orleans again. I have written and written and writen to government, media, and on the internet. This country is a joke. I cannot begin to heal until George Bush, a man I voted for, is out of office. Maybe then I will want to be an American again. But then again, maybe not. Now go back to your discussion of buses and Iraq. We will continue to rebuild our lives in the Gulf South.