The Gulf Between Rhetoric and Reality

"President Bush, please see what's happening. The American people want to believe the government is doing everything it can do -- not to rebuild or to stabilize gas prices -- just to restore the most basic order. So far, they are hearing about Herculean efforts, but they aren't seeing them."

War and Piece blogger Laura Rozen writes: "If you were the President, wouldn't you consider sending one of your cabinet officials to be on the scene non stop as a sign of the administration's interest in what's going on? Wouldn't you want that person reporting to your White House war room round the clock about what's happening? Who's representing the White House in New Orleans? Who has been since Sunday?"

Thursday at the White House

Judy Keen writes for USA Today: "President Bush called on two former presidents Thursday -- his father and Bill Clinton -- to lead a fundraising effort for Hurricane Katrina's victims."

Here's the text of Bush's remarks yesterday.

Peter Baker writes in The Washington Post: "President Bush yesterday sought $10.5 billion from Congress as a first installment to fund the response to Hurricane Katrina and, in a rare request for individual sacrifice, asked Americans not to buy as much gasoline to address oil shortages caused by the storm. . . .

"Bush spent much of the day meeting with advisers, talking with lawmakers and consulting with economists, and he plans to fly to the region today to inspect the damage. . . .

"With the Gulf of Mexico oil industry effectively shuttered and gasoline prices rising to unprecedented heights, Bush seemed particularly focused on the potential for nationwide economic instability."

Bush's most quotable sound bite -- "Don't buy gas if you don't need it" -- was somewhat reminiscent of the urging by a sweater-attired President Jimmy Carter during the energy crisis of the late '70s to turn down thermostats.

The Briefing

Here's the text of spokesman Scott McClellan's briefing yesterday.

As Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank writes: "McClellan may have set a record yesterday for punts in a single briefing. Some excerpts:

"Q: What's the latest estimates of the damage caused by the hurricane?

"A: There's going to be an operational update later today by Secretary Chertoff. That might be a place to direct that question.

"Q: We've heard a number of reports about crime deterring people from making rescues. . . . Can you, sort of, set the record straight on what you're hearing?

"A: No, I think that the best place to ask that question is going to be at the briefing at 1:30 or the briefing later today by FEMA officials. . . .

"Eventually, ABC News's Jessica Yellin protested: 'Message boards on the Internet are going crazy. They're frustrated that you're deflecting this to FEMA. Is the White House properly, adequately concerned?'

" 'Deflecting what to FEMA?' McClellan asked."

Milbank concludes: "With each hot potato passed Chertoff's way, McClellan was suggesting the homeland security secretary would be the one to blame if recovery efforts don't go well."

Poll Watch

CBS News reports that "concern and a worsening perception of the war in Iraq appear to have dragged President Bush's approval rating down to 41 percent, matching the lowest level ever seen in this poll."

Among the findings: "Given a choice, Americans would at least decrease the number of troops in Iraq; nearly three in ten would remove all of them now."

Credibility is a problem: Only 29 percent agree that when Bush talks about Iraq, he is describing the situation accurately.

As for those gas prices: "American oil companies and oil producing countries get the most blame for rising gas and oil prices, with two in five Americans placing a lot of blame on them.

"But many also blame President Bush and the Iraq war. Just under one-third place a lot of blame on Bush and the war in Iraq, and an additional two in five blame them some." Even more perilously for the White House, contrary to Bush's avowals, 63 percent say gas prices are "something a president can do a lot about."

Will Lester writes for the Associated Press: "Americans are worried about fast-rising gasoline prices and want President Bush and Congress to make that their top domestic priority, according to an AP-Ipsos poll.

Here are the results . Among them: 65 percent are not confident Bush will be able to handle the gas-price issue effectively.

Cheney Watch

Vice President Cheney, who had been spending part of August at his home in Wyoming, returned to Washington yesterday, his spokeswoman, Lea Anne McBride, tells me.

Before Congress Returned

Ken Thomas writes for the Associated Press: "President Bush has used a constitutional provision to bypass the Senate and fill a top Justice Department slot with an official whose nomination stalled over tactics at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, naval facility."

Rove Visits Camp Casey, Sort Of

The Brad Blog has a Karl Rove scoop: It turns out that Rove borrowed Bush's pickup truck and "made a surprise sunset visit/photo-op Tuesday night to the half dozen or so Bush supporters camped across the street from 'Camp Casey' in Crawford, Texas where Cindy Sheehan -- whose son, Casey, was killed in Iraq -- originally made her stand requesting a meeting and an explanation from George W. Bush. . . .

"Rove laughed, greeted and thanked those who came to Crawford to attack a mother who'd lost her son in the cause of George W. Bush's unexplained 'noble cause.' "

The Bush Family and the War

Terry Neal writes on washingtonpost.com that bloggers have raised a legitimate question: "If the sacrifice is so noble, has the president urged his own children, or enlistment-age nieces and nephews -- of which there are eight -- to join the military and fight in Iraq?

"I called the White House to pose this question and was somewhat surprised to learn that none of the supposed liberal baddies in the White House press corps had ever asked the president or any of his spokespersons that question.

"Spokeswoman Dana Perino couldn't find that this question had ever been asked. She said she'd have to check and call back. And she did later Tuesday afternoon with this prepared statement: 'There are many ways for people to serve their country and to help make the world a better freer and more peaceful place. The president is grateful to all of those who have answered the call to service whether it's in the military or in another capacity and members of his family have done both.' "

Neal concludes: "The president's children are grown and free to do what they want. It seems absurd to criticize them for not enlisting. But that's not the point, the war's critics say. The question is whether the president urged his daughters, or his other enlistment-age relatives, to join a cause he has described as noble. And the answer to that question is still unknown."

Lake George?

Blogger Wonkette yesterday launched a meme that is spreading through the liberal blogosphere: "A tipster informs us that down in New Orleans, they have a name for the flood waters that have invaded the city: Lake George."