In dynastic China, conventional wisdom held that natural disasters that afflicted the people were sure signs that the emperor had lost the all-important "Mandate of Heaven."
The reliably conservative Manchester Union Leader, a newspaper that endorsed President Bush for re-election a year ago, ripped into "W" for his handling of the crisis in Louisiana the past few days:
A better leader would have flown straight to the disaster zone and announced the immediate mobilization of every available resource to rescue the stranded, find and bury the dead, and keep the survivors fed, clothed, sheltered and free of disease.The cool, confident, intuitive leadership Bush exhibited in his first term, particularly in the months immediately following Sept. 11, 2001, has vanished. In its place is a diffident detachment unsuitable for the leader of a nation facing war, natural disaster and economic uncertainty.
Click here for the entire editorial.
For a good overview of Bush's declining political fortunes, check out this analysis.
