Demanding Answers

Henry notes "Republican leaders are starting to really circle the wagons," however.

Poll Watch

Agence France Presse reports: "Forty-two percent of Americans said US President George W. Bush has handled Hurricane Katrina badly while 35 percent thought he has performed well, according to a Gallup poll just published."

Here's the report from the Gallup Organization .

Asked how good a job Bush did responding to hurricane, 10 percent said great; 25 percent said good; 21 percent said neither good nor bad; 18 percent said bad and 24 percent said terrible.

Also: 79 percent believe the gas companies are taking advantage of the situation and charging unfair prices

Props for Bush

Blogger Josh Marshall calls attention to this Salt Lake Tribune story by Lisa Rosetta about firefighters assembled from throughout the United States by FEMA, thinking they were going to be deployed as emergency workers.

"Instead, they have learned they are going to be community-relations officers for FEMA. . . .

"Firefighters say they want to brave the heat, the debris-littered roads, the poisonous cottonmouth snakes and fire ants and travel into pockets of Louisiana where many people have yet to receive emergency aid.

"But as specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas."

The Deepening Divide

Dan Balz writes in the Washington Post: "When terrorists struck on Sept. 11, 2001, Americans came together in grief and resolve, rallying behind President Bush in an extraordinary show of national unity. But when Hurricane Katrina hit last week, the opposite occurred, with Americans dividing along sharply partisan lines in their judgment of the president's and the federal government's response."

Today's Calendar

Pete Yost writes for the Associated Press: "In a historic cathedral, President Bush and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will lead the final tributes to William H. Rehnquist, the long-serving chief justice of the United States who charted the court's path toward conservatism."

Supreme Court Watch

Peter Baker and Jo Becker write in The Washington Post: "President Bush vowed yesterday to 'take a good, long look' at a 'wide open' list of candidates before deciding whom to nominate for a second open seat on the Supreme Court, as both sides girded for twin confirmation battles and recalibrated strategies after the dizzying events of recent days. . . .

"Complicating the picture is the political aftermath of Katrina, which analysts say has left Bush weakened amid recriminations over a slow, ineffectual initial response. Some analysts speculated that Bush might avoid a provocative conservative in favor of a less ideologically pure nominee, possibly [Attorney General Alberto R.] Gonzales. But White House advisers scoffed at the notion, suggesting that fundamentally misunderstands Bush's nature."

Richard W. Stevenson and Sheryl Gay Stolberg write in the New York Times that Bush " jokingly but pointedly singled out Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. . . .

"It has never been clear how seriously Mr. Bush has considered Mr. Gonzales for the Supreme Court, and it was hard to tell if the president's remarks were calculated to send a signal or were simply a reflection of his sense of humor and his disdain for Washington guessing games."

Valerie Plame Watch

Christopher Lee writes in The Washington Post that "legal experts say prosecutors will have a hard time putting away anyone in the administration for violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act in the revelation of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity in 2003. . . .

"There is, however, another statute that federal officials have used to go after government leakers. Some legal experts say it is not out of the question that prosecutors in the Plame case could bring it out again -- although it, too, seems a long shot."

Barbara Bush Watch

The story about Barbara Bush's jaw-dropping comments about evacuees from New Orleans appears to be picking up steam.

The New York Times reports today: "As President Bush battled criticism over the response to Hurricane Katrina, his mother declared it a success for evacuees who 'were underprivileged anyway,' saying on Monday that many of the poor people she had seen while touring a Houston relocation site were faring better than before the storm hit. . . .

"White House officials did not respond on Tuesday to calls for comment on Mrs. Bush's remarks."

Agence France Presse reports that the comments "triggered a flood of negative messages on the Huffington Post, a popular left-leaning blog.

" 'Cold hearted witch,' read one of the more polite comments, signed by one IowaDem."

Karl Rove Watch

Lori Montgomery wrote in Saturday's Washington Post that Karl Rove has been illegally claiming a homestead deduction for his D.C. home, and she raised the possibility that he is guilty of voter fraud in Texas.

From a follow-up in The Washington Post story today: "Presidential adviser Karl Rove may live and pay taxes in Washington, but he's welcome to vote back home in Texas anytime he pleases, a spokesman for Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams said yesterday."

Late Night Humor

From "The Daily Show":

Ed Helms: "Jon, today, finally, a ray of hope. Eight days after Katrina came ashore, the federal government has gotten its act together, marshalling all of its resources in a desperate effort to save this beloved, and now beleaguered, president."

Stewart: "President? I thought you were talking about New Orleans."

Helms: "No, that place is [expletive]. But many here believe with quick action, George W. Bush's reputation can still be saved. . . .

"The main thing is, in a very reassuring sight, the federal government has finally brought in the heavy machinery: The Rove.

"Many believe he's the one man who can fix the gaping breach in the president's approval ratings."

Stewart: "But what impact will that have on the actual rescue effort?"

Helms: "The actual rescue effort? What is your obsession with the horrible humanitarian catastrophe?"