Rhetoric, Reality Don't Match in Relief

Bush's Responses to Problems Concern Even the GOP
By RON FOURNIER, AP

WASHINGTON (Sept. 2) - The Iraqi insurgency is in its last throes. The economy is booming. Anybody who leaks a CIA agent's identity will be fired. Add another piece of White House rhetoric that doesn't match the public's view of reality: Help is on the way, Gulf Coast.

As New Orleans descended into anarchy, President Bush and his emergency-response team congratulated each other for jobs well done and spoke of water, food and troops pouring into the ravaged city. Television pictures told a different story.

"What it reminded me of the other day is 'Baghdad Bob' saying there are no Americans at the airport," said Rich Galen, a Republican consultant in Washington. He was referring to Saddam Hussein's reality-challenged minister of information who denied the existence of U.S. troops in the Iraqi capital.

To some critics, Bush seemed to deny the existence of problems with hurricane relief this week. He waited until Friday to acknowledged that "the results are not acceptable," and even then Bush parsed his words

Republicans worry that he looks out of touch defending the chaotic emergency response.

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050902172809990021

from him....he is living down to appropriately non existant expectations.