Credit where due?
There are plenty of reasons to criticize the President for his new hurricane efforts. As Joe notes at AmericaBlog, the White House is still operating under PR priorities, choosing not to travel to San Antonio because it's "too sunny" there. But honestly, whatever the motivations, the level of engagement Bush is showing here is exactly what we should expect from a President when we are faced with a storm that represents yet another historic threat. It should occupy all of his time and schedule, and his presence should help ensure that leaders in charge of the response are doing their jobs.

And, don't you think seeing him trying to finally claim the protection of Americans as his responsibility and priority makes his response to Katrina that much more shameful. He's at the Colorado command center; he's visiting devastated areas. Can you believe he (like Cheney, and Rice, and Chertoff) ho-hummed his way through a category 4/5 threat to one of our nation's biggest cities, and most important ports? So, I give him some credit for demonstrating the proper attention. But it highlights his absence through the last storm all that much more.