"It Was Katrina That Broke The Sense That Republicans Could Govern Well"

[CatWoman]

so sayeth Newt Gingrich.

Got to give that turd credit for being right just once this year - much like a broken clock:

Katrina's Damage to Bush's Standing Still Haunts His Presidency

By Brendan Murray

Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Katrina's flood waters have long since receded. The human toll and political wreckage wrought by the killer storm continue to haunt George W. Bush almost a year later.

As the president and still-reeling Gulf Coast residents prepared to mark Katrina's anniversary, political experts say that dismay over Bush's response to the disaster continues to undermine public confidence in his managerial abilities.

``It was Katrina that broke the sense that the Republicans could govern well,'' former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said in an interview. Bush ``was still seen before Katrina as a relatively strong leader, and somewhere in this process there was a substantial erosion because Americans were shocked'' by the government's failure to perform.

Bush has never appeared comfortable talking about the catastrophe, and the storm's continuing ability to bedevil him makes it a domestic counterpart to the Iraq war -- a setback that fundamentally altered perceptions of a presidency.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=ak5UNysg2AqI

[BOSSHOG]

1. Newt is an architect of their strategy.

Government does not work, put us in charge and we will prove it. The gop philosophy in a nutshell. Throw in a liberal dose of hate for minorities, red meat for the ignorant amongst us, secrecy to coverup lies and bungles and you have the republican party all wrapped up in one neat little bundle. Shrink it and drown it in a bathtub so sayeth republican party spokesman grover the rover norquist. Ole grove must be truly disappointed when he takes a look at the incredible growth in the government since his ole pal george got selected.

[n2doc]

5. I think that long ago they gave up shrinking government

And decided to loot it. I firmly believe their long term goal is to force a financial crisis where the government goes bankrupt. They tried, weakly, to reduce the size of some programs (or elimanate them) but gave up when they realized that people actually cared about those things. So it is easier to just explode the deficit with tax cuts, war and corruption, and wait for the day when it all collapses. Then they can eliminate what they don't want because of the crisis, which will undoubtedly be blamed on Clinton. Even in 2015....

[Crankie Avalon]

2. There was never any "sense" about it...now if he were to say, "Katrina...

...shattered what was left of the myth that Republicans could govern well," he'd be on the money.

[JeffR]

3. It was the secret energy task force meetings

Cheney's failure to convene an anti-terrorism task force meeting, Bush's failure to read the August 6 PBD, the non-prevention of and non-response to September 11, the botched Afghanistan mission, the failure to find Osama, the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the failure to address gas prices, the boneheaded attempt to destroy Social Security, the botched prescription drug benefit, the cowardice of avoiding Cindy Sheehan.

Oh yeah, and Katrina.

[TahitiNut]

4. I doubt I'd ever call that "sense" - more like 'senseless.'

:shrug: That said, they've achieved their objectives VERY efficiently - they've enriched the wealthy and powerful in measures never before seen, not even in the age of robber barons.

The entire notion of "govern well" presumes a measure of "well" that's consistent with the REAL objectives - not some specious facade.

[bumblebee1]

6. A broken clock is right twice a day.

That's more than Gingrich is right.