Supreme Blather

Bush Bubble?

Mike Allen who recently jumped from the WashPost to Time, questions whether Bush has a bubble problem:

"A related factor, aides and outside allies concede, is what many of them see as the President's increasing isolation. Bush's bubble has grown more hermetic in the second term, they say, with fewer people willing or able to bring him bad news -- or tell him when he's wrong. Bush has never been adroit about this. A youngish aide who is a Bush favorite described the perils of correcting the boss. 'The first time I told him he was wrong, he started yelling at me,' the aide recalled about a session during the first term. 'Then I showed him where he was wrong, and he said, "All right. I understand. Good job." He patted me on the shoulder. I went and had dry heaves in the bathroom.'

"But as the Bush era begins to wane, some remaining aides lack the chops to set him right when he is off course."

Dry heaves? Will these people kindly get some backbone?

More Like FDR?

OpinionJournal's John Fund noting that Bush has asked for $62 billion for Katrina and not a cent in spending cuts, says W. should be more like . . . FDR???

"After Pearl Harbor, it's generally known that Franklin D. Roosevelt dramatically expanded the bite of the federal income tax so that, in the words of one tax professor, it 'spread from the country club . . . down to the railroad tracks and then over to the other side of the tracks.'

"Less well known is FDR's decision to slash non-defense spending by over 20% between 1942 and 1944. Among the programs that were eliminated entirely were FDR's own prized creations. By 1944, such pillars of the New Deal as the Civilian Conservation Corps, the National Youth Administration and the Work Projects Administration had been abolished. In 1939 those three programs had represented one-eighth of the federal budget. Roosevelt and the Congress of his day knew what to do in an emergency."

Certain Louisiana Politicians

Powerline's John Hinderaker reacting to a Fox interview with a certain Louisiana senator:

"Mary Landrieu has gone stark raving mad. It's funny, though, how seldom these MSM interviewers ask her about the fact that her brother is the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana. Plus, of course, her father was the Mayor of New Orleans. Can anyone say 'corrupt oligarchy'? Another time, that would be a topic of interest to the MSM, but not now, when they are hunting bigger game."

The Illumi blog, citing a note from the son of a doctor, points the finger at the gov:

"Here's a bit of incompetence he relayed regarding the embattled (better word than incompetent?) Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco . . .

"A lot of doctors (including him) rushed to New Orleans (at their own expense) to help in the effort. Doctors (especially in refugee centers like the convention center and the Superdome) were overworked and there weren't enough to deal with the health needs of refugees. Dad doesn't have a license to practice medicine in Louisiana. He's licensed in Wyoming. Since licenses are issued by states, it's illegal for him to practice medicine in a state where he's not licensed . . . In emergencies like natural disasters it's normal for states to suspend this requirement and offer temporary reciprocity with the other 49 states, recognizing their licenses as being valid in the affected state . . .