What Is President Bush?

President Bush made a decent speech last night about Hurricane Katrina, the response to the disaster, and his ideas for rebuilding the gulf region. The funny thing is the substance of his speech was actually very liberal. It seems Bush is going through a major crisis and doesn't even know who he is. This is an example of poor leadership on an unprecedented scale.

Bush's poll numbers have been at historic lows in the last few weeks - and they were very low even before the hurricane. He bungled the Katrina response and the criticism was pouring in. Some Republicans tried to defend the president, but the whole world knows the truth and stopping the criticism was like trying to stop the flood waters from pouring into New Orleans.

So, Bush in an unusual move for him, actually took responsibility and admitted the federal government did not do its job (so much for those on the right who adamantly claimed the president was not at fault). Then a strange thing happened, and I bet many didn't realize it as it was happening, and I wonder if Bush himself realizes what he's done, but he turned himself into a big government, big spending liberal ala Lyndon Johnson or FDR with broad big government programs and $200 Billion of tax payer money - much of which will go to the poor and to minorities.

It's hard to imagine at this point how anyone could still support this man. He had already lost the Democrats and many Independents a long time ago, and his poor and out of touch response immediately after the hurricane lost the rest of the independents and some moderate Republicans. But, he still had his hard core conservative base that seems to back him regardless of facts and logic. But, if and when these people stop and consider what the president said last night, they are going to realize that he just metamorphasized into a liberal. They just might connect the dots and realize that his disastrous Iraq policies and his incompetent response to the hurricane are not just dangerous to this country’s national security as the Democrats have been claiming, but that his policies are dangerous to their conservative agenda.

In short, Bush is trying to make amends and stop his sinking poll numbers by making grand promises and embracing the ideas of his critics. But, it’s a desperate move on his part. His critics know the man all too well to be fooled by empty rhetoric. They know that his speeches never match the realities on the ground. However, they can use his words to hold him and/or future Republicans to these promises. Meanwhile, some of Bush’s supporters have got to be disgusted that they now have to pay for his mistakes by conceding some of their core conservative beliefs. It's one thing to deny his mistakes while debating a liberal. It's another thing when they figure out that this mistake prone man is in charge of their agenda and he will sell out their core beliefs to cover up his mistakes.

If you’re wondering if Bush is truly that clueless that he might give a speech and not realize the implications of his words, then you haven’t been paying attention. You also wouldn’t think it’s possible for a president to make a prime time speech to the nation about a national disaster and come to the podium in an open collared shirt that was improperly buttoned. It doesn’t seem possible does it? Well, judge for yourself. I learned a long time ago that when it comes to President Bush there is no underestimating his naivety. I first found the below picture on crooksandliars.com, and this is not a case of a photo shop trick. You can check out any news site, newspaper, or rebroadcast of the speech and you’ll see the shirt is uneven. Here’s an MSNBC Link that backs up this picture.

When it comes to Bush, it seems no amount of incompetence is impossible. Ladies and gentlemen…Our President: