Justifying a five-week vacation, a petulant Bush
said:
I think the people want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy.
Then Katrina hit, and we saw what "good, crisp decisions", Bush-style, looked like. Not very good, not very crisp. Like when he claimed that no one had anticipated breeching of the levees, even though everyone had anticipated that very breech. Now, he's trying to explain his earlier ignorance.
What I was referring to is this: When that storm came by, a lot of people said we dodged a bullet. When that storm came through at first, people said, Whew. There was a sense of relaxation. And that's what I was referring to.
And I myself thought we had dodged a bullet. You know why? Because I was listening to people probably over the airwaves say, The bullet has been dodged. And that was what I was referring to.
Of course, there were plans in case the levee had been breached. There was a sense of relaxation at a critical moment.
What the heck is he talking about? Now I know the sycophants on the Right will all nod on cue and applaud their infallible president's clear explanation. But really, "sense of relaxation?" "Dodged a bullet?" Aravosis has compiled the headlines screaming at us while Bush was feeling a "sense of relaxation":
I don't see any that claim, "whew, we dodged a bullet." Now, I can picture Chertoff, Brown, and Bush sitting around a table giving each other high-fives telling each other about that dodged bullet. But back in the real world, everyone outside of the Administration knew things were catastrophic, and no one, outside the administration, felt a "sense of relaxation".
No one.