September 22, 2005
It's a bad scene when Peggy Noonan is ripping into Bush
At first I thought she was trying to excuse Bush's bad, bad spending habit:
George W. Bush, after five years in the presidency, does not intend to get sucker-punched by the Democrats over race and poverty. That was the driving force behind his Katrina speech last week. He is not going to play the part of the cranky accountant--"But where's the money going to come from?"--while the Democrats, in the middle of a national tragedy, swan around saying "Republicans don't care about black people," and "They're always tightwads with the poor."Posted by Karol at September 22, 2005 06:59 PM | TrackBackIn his Katrina policy the president is telling Democrats, "You can't possibly outspend me. Go ahead, try. By the time this is over Dennis Kucinich will be crying uncle, Bernie Sanders will be screaming about pork."
That's what's behind Mr. Bush's huge, comforting and boondogglish plan to spend $200 billion or $100 billion or whatever--"whatever it takes"--on Katrina's aftermath. And, I suppose, tomorrow's hurricane aftermath.
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I still support the president in the War on Terror, but he has been an utter and spineless failure domestically.
He is trying way too hard to take a page from Reagan's biography, letting everyone spend away whilst he stays above it all and fights the most pre-eminent global conflict of the day.
Cutting taxes helps the economy when spending is cut as well. I thought Bush would get tough in his second term. He's gotten worse.
He is reminding me way too much of Governor Pataki.
Posted by: Sean at September 23, 2005 10:57 AMHear, hear, Sean. But Bush is more culpable than Reagan ever was for spending. Reagan had to confront a Democratic House led by a shrewd Speaker. Dole and the Senate majority from 81-87 was not that in control. We have a Republican House and a Republican Senate with a large majority. The entire GOP is culpable. Nice to see Noonan is finally waking up (and so are Coulter, Malkin, the National Review). Conservatives must put principles over party. Otherwise we will be sold out.
Posted by: Von Bek at September 23, 2005 12:15 PM
