Bush Losing Support From His Base

Michael Tackett writes for the Chicago Tribune: "On Thursday, President Bush stood before a bank of television cameras--American flags arrayed behind him--to announce financial aid and other assistance for victims of Hurricane Katrina. But broadcast alongside that announcement were images from New Orleans and reports that more than a dozen bodies were being removed from a hospital. . . .

"The difficulty so far for the administration has been making the images and words match the reality that people are seeing on their screens."

First Lady to the Defense

The Associated Press reports: "Laura Bush described as 'disgusting' comments by rapper Kanye West and Democratic chairman Howard Dean blaming her husband for the disproportionate number of black hurricane victims."

The first lady also spoke at an elementary school in Mississippi yesterday. Here's the text .

"I think we've seen a lot of the same footage over and over that isn't necessarily representative of what really happened in both -- in a lot of ways. . . .

"I think overall, it was a very good response."

Angry Democrat Watch

Charles Babington writes for The Washington Post: "Democrats sharpened their criticism of the Bush administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina yesterday, refusing to participate in a Republican-controlled investigative panel and displaying a photo in the Senate of the president strumming a guitar the day New Orleans was inundated."

Mark Leibovich writes in the Washington Post about the return to Washington of Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu.

"Landrieu was at once gracious and defiant, thanking the president and then -- in her floor speech -- ridiculing his statement last week that no one 'anticipated the breach of the levees.'

" 'Everybody anticipated the breach of the levee, Mr. President,' Landrieu said."

Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes in the New York Times: "The senator went on to describe how the creator of Mr. Bill, the clay figurine whose cry of 'Ohh noooo!' was long a staple of 'Saturday Night Live,' had used the character in public service announcements to warn southern Louisianians of the dangers they would face in an extraordinary storm.

" 'How can it be,' she asked, 'that Mr. Bill was better informed than Mr. Bush?' "

A Czar for Katrina?

Tabassum Zakaria writes for Reuters: "Two Republican senators pressed President George W. Bush on Thursday to appoint a top official to lead the long-term recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. . . .

"Various names have been mentioned in Washington for the job, such as former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and retired Gen. Tommy Franks, former head of the U.S. Central Command."

OK, Maybe Not Powell

Reuters reports: "Colin Powell, the former U.S. secretary of state seen as a potential leader for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, has joined the chorus of Americans criticizing the disaster response at all levels of government."

OK, Maybe Nobody

Thomas M. DeFrank writes in the New York Daily News that "some top Bush aides think a brand-name disaster boss like Giuliani, dubbed 'America's Mayor' for his leadership after 9/11, or former secretary of state Colin Powell would remind Americans of the administration's sluggish initial response to the hurricane.

" 'You don't want someone overshadowing the President,' said an official in the 'ride it out' camp. 'That leaves him looking weak.' "

Cheney Gets Heckled

Vice President Cheney toured the Gulf Coast yesterday, holding several meetings, photo opportunities, and short press availabilities.

His first stop was in Gulfport, Miss.

Caren Bohan writes for Reuters: "While he was speaking, a young man shouted an obscenity at the vice-president, saying 'Go [expletive] yourself, Mr Cheney' in an outburst that reflected frayed tempers and patience in the stricken region.

"Cheney later toured an unflooded part of New Orleans near the convention center, seeing first-hand the debris of chairs, empty water bottles and trash. Thousands of storm survivors pleading for food, water and care stayed several days at the center last week before they were evacuated from the ruined and chaotic city."

Here's the CNN transcript of the Cheney talk and the heckling (the White House hasn't sent one out, go figure).

After the heckle, a reporter asked: "Are you getting a lot of that Mr. Vice President?"

Cheney replied: "That's the first time I've heard it. Never mind. A friend of John -- oh never mind."

On CNN, Jack Cafferty and Wolf Blitzer discussed the incident. Here's that transcript :

"CAFFERTY: The vice president said that's the first time he heard it. Didn't he utter the same phrase to Senator Patrick Leahy on the floor of the United States Senate?

"BLITZER: Yes.

"CAFFERTY: So it wasn't the first time he heard it. He said it ...

"BLITZER: It is the first time he heard it in this context of this trip.

"CAFFERTY: You know what, I'll bet it's not the last."

My question: Who is John? John Kerry?

Taking Action

Peter Baker and Amy Goldstein write in The Washington Post: "President Bush and Congress moved on multiple fronts yesterday to rush fresh relief to people afflicted by Hurricane Katrina, vowing to get cash directly into the hands of victims while enacting an unprecedented spending package to feed and house evacuees, rebuild schools and bridges, and begin clearing out the vast rubble."

But Stevenson notes in the Times: "It did not help that one aspect of the main initiative laid out by Mr. Bush on Thursday, a plan to put $2,000 in the hands of every household that needs it because of the storm, quickly became a source of confusion."

And: "Mr. Bush's effort to strike a compassionate tone were also complicated by his decision to waive a requirement that employers who receive federal government contracts related to the relief effort pay their workers the prevailing wages for that kind of work in the area it is being done."

Rearranging the Chairs?

Al Kamen writes in The Washington Post: "The on-again, off-again rumor that White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card is moving to be secretary of the treasury to replace John Snow appears to be on again. The timing, though, seems somewhat odd, what with the priority now on Katrina recovery efforts -- both actual and political. . . .

"The question the last time the rumor bounced around was who would replace Card, with the oddsmakers suggesting either Office of Management and Budget chief Josh Bolten or Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove. Problem then was said to be a need to await resolution of the investigation into Rove's role in the Valerie Plame leak to the press."

Plame Watch

Is time almost up for special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald's investigation into the leak of Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA operative? And is jailed New York Times reporter Judith Miller negotiating with her secret source for permission to testify about their conversation?

Adam Entous writes for Reuters that "lawyers close to the investigation say there are signs that the 20-month-long inquiry could be wrapped up within weeks in a final flurry of negotiations and legal maneuvering.

"Asked if talks were under way with special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, a Justice Department prosecutor, to secure Miller's testimony and release, Abrams said: 'If there are any discussions, they would be private.'"

Arianna Huffington writes in her blog: "Miller is looking for an out."

Assassination Indictment

Jerry Markon writes in The Washington Post: "An American student was charged yesterday in an al Qaeda plot to kill President Bush, with prosecutors alleging that Ahmed Omar Abu Ali and his confederates planned to use multiple snipers to shoot Bush or to blow him up in a suicide bombing."

Always Time For 'Bandar Bush'

From a White House statement : "President Bush met today with His Royal Highness Ambassador Bandar bin Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud to thank him for his 22 years of distinguished service as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the United States and bid him farewell."

Late Night Humor

Jon Stewart, talking to Samantha Bee, on "The Daily Show":

Stewart: "Alright, Sam, one last question: The president has vowed to personally lead the investigation into the government's failed response to Katrina. Isn't that a job someone else should be doing?"

Bee: "Not at all, Jon. To truly find out what went wrong, it's important for an investigator to have a little distance from the situation. And it's hard to get any more distant from it than the president was last week."