Bring it On!

End of the Bush Era- [Washington Post]

"The Bush Era is over. The sooner politicians in both parties realize that, the better for them -- and the country."

E.J. Dionne, Jr. draws the strikingly obvious contrast of the would-be presidential leader in Post 9-11 NYC, who rose atop the rubbish heap with a bullhorn proclaiming he could hear the shouts around him and that he would ably respond to them, and the could-it-really-be Mr. Bush, who seemed out of touch when his summer vacation was cut suddenly short by hurricane Katrina.

Mr. Bush will speak to the nation later today from the devastated Gulf region, which he has visited a number of times since the hurricane overwhelmed state and local efforts and federal agencies drew "blistering" criticism for their slow response.

Mr. Bush even took the uncharacteristic, though guarded stance of accepting responsibility for this lack of response earlier this week. But, it remains to be seen what new vision or bold leadership might emerge from a president beset with these obstacles.

The earlier president rallied world response to a war on terror that boldly brought the fight to the enemy in Afghanistan only to get distracted and discredited with the invasion of Iraq on faulty intelligence. Most expect this president to announce a reconstruction aid package post-Katrina that will be the largest ever implemented on American soil. Note that this amount parallels the overwhelming amount already reached in wartime expenses in Iraq.

While there are those who are familiar with the "starve the beast" approach to goverment, there are also those who think about fiscal responsibility. While we must wait to hear what Mr. Bush has to say, the question remains, will we really believe what we hear?