Remember the spin how she was such a sweet, Motherly figure and Hilary was
portrayed as a cold hearted [censored]. It turns out Babs is the [censored].
Barbara Bush: It's Good Enough for the Poor
John Nichols Tue Sep 6, 1:08 PM ET
The Nation -- Finally, we have discovered the roots of George W. Bush's
"compassionate conservatism."
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On the heels of the president's "What, me worry?" response to the death,
destruction and dislocation that followed upon Hurricane Katrina comes the
news of his mother's Labor Day visit with hurricane evacuees at the
Astrodome in Houston.
Commenting on the facilities that have been set up for the evacuees -- cots
crammed side-by-side in a huge stadium where the lights never go out and the
sound of sobbing children never completely ceases -- former First Lady
Barbara Bush concluded that the poor people of New Orleans had lucked out.
"Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in
the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is
working very well for them," Mrs. Bush told American Public Media's
"Marketplace" program, before returning to her multi-million dollar Houston
home.
On the tape of the interview, Mrs. Bush chuckles audibly as she observes
just how great things are going for families that are separated from loved
ones, people who have been forced to abandon their homes and the only
community where they have ever lived, and parents who are explaining to
children that their pets, their toys and in some cases their friends may be
lost forever. Perhaps the former first lady was amusing herself with the
notion that evacuees without bread could eat cake.
At the very least, she was expressing a measure of empathy commensurate with
that evidenced by her son during his fly-ins for disaster-zone photo
opportunities.
On Friday, when even Republican lawmakers were giving the federal government
an "F" for its response to the crisis, President Bush heaped praise on
embattled Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown. As
thousands of victims of the hurricane continued to plead for food, water,
shelter, medical care and a way out of the nightmare to which federal
neglect had consigned them, Brown cheerily announced that "people are
getting the help they need."
Barbara Bush's son put his arm around the addled FEMA functionary and
declared, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."
Like mother, like son.
Even when a hurricane hits, the apple does not fall far from the tree.