Not to Pile On....

But here are a few more things about this Administration's horrific response to Katrina that particularly bug me:

* In this conversation with a sobbing woman in Mississippi, the following exchange takes place:

Bush to women: "There's a Salvation Army center that I want to, that I'll tell you where it is, and they'll get you some help. I'm sorry . . . They'll help you. . . . "

Woman 1: "I came here looking for clothes. . . . "

Bush: "They'll get you some clothes, at the Salvation Army center. . . . "

Woman 1: "We don't have anything. . . . "

Bush: "I understand. . . . Do you know where the center is, that I'm talking to you about?"

Guy with shades: "There's no center there, sir, it's a truck."

Bush: "There's trucks?"

Guy: "There's a school, a school about two miles away. . . . "

Bush: "But isn't there a Salvation center down there?"

Guy: "No that's wiped out. . . . "

Bush: "A temporary center?"

Guy: "No sir they've got a truck there, for food."

Bush: "That's what I'm saying, for food and water."

Good job telling these women what they need when you had no idea what they could get. Apparently they just need what they can get. Sobbing hurricane victims need to re-priortize for the convenience of the sound bite, dammit!

* Bush elevated the nomination of John Roberts to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court within 36 hours after Rehnquist passed away. Thanks for moving swiftly on that, Mr. President. Because there weren't other, more pressing things you should have been doing with your time, like, oh, figuring out how to help a few thousand stranded homeless people.

* Barbara Bush, mother of the current President, talking about how some New Orleans transplants are livin' la vida loca in the plush environs known as the Houston Astrodome: "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this -- this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them."

* On September 4, Bush ordered that flags be lowered to half-mast as a sign of respect for the passing of Chief Justice Rehnquist, who died on September 3. Oh yeah, and a few hours later, he ordered the same half-mast status in respect for the victims of Katrina, most of whom have felt the pain and anguish since as early as a week before. Again, way to go, Priorities Man.

* Bush took a photo op with some hick and a guitar on the day the hurricane was plowing through the southern U.S.

* Bush's initial comments on the hurricane were, effectively, "We'll be all right. Everyone will re-build. Trent Lott's house will be re-built. I look forward to drinking on his porch." Oh, and let's not forget his comment about how he'll miss the drunken revelry in which he partook in New Orleans in days gone by.

My heart aches for the people who've have been so devastated by this disaster (with the exception of Trent Lott's house -- I could care less about how "badly" he's been affected by this)... and the Administration's response infuriates me.