Conservative War on Poverty?

Richard Stevenson in the New York Times : George W. Bush, whose standing for the last four years has rested primarily on issues of war and peace, introduced himself to the nation on Thursday night in an unfamiliar and somewhat uncomfortable new role: domestic president . . .

"He is scrambling to assure a shaken, angry nation not only that is he up to the task but also that he understands how much it disturbed Americans to see their fellow citizens suffering and their government responding so ineffectually.

So for nearly 30 minutes, he stood in a largely lifeless New Orleans and, to recast his presidency in response to one of the nation's most devastating disasters, sought to show that he understands the suffering."

Dick Polman in the Philadelphia Inquirer : "President Bush launched two ambitious projects last night. One was to rebuild the devastated Gulf Coast. The other was to rebuild his devastated image.

"Both are daunting challenges, the latter perhaps more so. The sluggish federal response to Hurricane Katrina has-- at least for now-- blown away Bush's carefully crafted image as the leader who can best keep Americans safe. Now, for the sake of his political viability, he wants to reclaim it."

Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times : "The speech, delivered before the improbably pristine and well-lighted facade of St. Louis Cathedral, included all the necessary elements of a post-disaster address: compassion for the victims, praise for their rescuers, a call on the nation to pull together, a promise that "we will do what it takes" to bounce back-- and a brief acknowledgment that federal preparations had fallen short."

John Dickerson in Slate : "Katrina allows the president to cut away from all the other miserable news and do one of the things he does best: spend money. Bush may talk like a fiscal conservative, but he spends like a liberal. He binges for his priorities."

Bush's biggest sales job may not be with the Dems, this Wall Street Journal piece makes clear:

"The open-ended commitment by President Bush and congressional leaders to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast is stoking anger among conservatives over the Republican government's record of higher spending and debt.

"Following the nation's worst-ever natural disaster, no Republican in Congress is opposing federal aid that already totals $62 billion and is expected to exceed $200 billion. But the party's conservative wing, led yesterday by Oklahoma's Tom Coburn in the Senate and Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana in the House, is calling for offsetting 'sacrifices' in federal spending. And they're backed by a growing chorus of conservative activists, columnists and bloggers."

Oh, like they've sacrificed a lot in passing pork-laden measures like the highway bill?

Money quote from Coburn in this similar NYT story: