Our Weekly Visit with Dave Rossie

David Rossie: 'Katrina blew away Bush's facade'

....[A]nother national crisis was about to strike, revealing for all to see that the emperor not only has no clothes but also nothing for the clothes to hide. What Gertrude Stein said of Oakland, California, may be said as well of Bush: "There's no there there."

On Sept. 11, 2001, it was bewilderment followed by indecision followed by bluster. This time it was detachment followed by indifference followed by twaddle.

After learning of the disastrous state of affairs in New Orleans and Biloxi, Bush sprang into action. He flew off to Arizona for a chat with one of those invitation-only audiences of which he's so fond. Then on to San Diego the next day for another dog and pony show.

Eventually he got around to visiting the region, after reading a speech that was about as inspiring as a lodge hall treasurer's report. There he oozed compassion for Trent Lott's lost house and praised the monumentally inept and soon to depart FEMA boss Michael Brown. ("You're doin' a heck of a job, Brownie.")

There would be no defining moment this time for Rove and Hughes to spin into a lasting myth about a strong decisive leader, a myth the mass media swallowed whole. No weary firefighter to embrace atop a rubble heap in lower Manhattan. No bullhorn to shout into. And no Evil One to track down, smoke out and bring back dead or alive; an empty promise from an empty vessel.....