Politics as usual

The Inside Politics page of the Washington Times brings us Dick Morris’ view on the politics of Hurricane Katrina. The popular wisdom (or at least the wishful thinking of the MSM) is that the Democrats have finally found the perfect storm to sink the Bush presidency. Morris disagrees. Noting that “relief is a gift that keeps on giving,” he predicts that Bush will be able to use the rebuilding process to make Katrina a poitical plus.
I doubt it. The MSM did a good job of selling the idea that the administration botched things in the early going, and they will miss no opportunity to reinforce this theme. Bush may be able to recover as the rebuilding process gains steam, but he’s not likely to turn the issue into a net plus. In the end, I suspect that the public will divide on the issue of the president’s overall response pretty much along the lines it divides on everything pertaining to Bush.
JOHN adds: I agree. The Democrats are never discouraged when early polling results don’t favor them. On the contrary, they recognize that this happens a lot, since they tend to advocate positions that aren’t very popular. So they aren’t deterred. They keep pounding away, and they know they can count on the support of the media, so that over time–often, over a period of years–their position, though initially perceived as bogus by most Americans, becomes the conventional wisdom. I still think that will happen here if the Bush administration doesn’t do a better job of defending itself.
Still, it won’t be easy for the Democrats to deal with the explosive facts about the Democrats who blocked the Red Cross from helping those who were stuck in the Super Dome and the New Orleans Convention Center, as detailed once again by Hugh Hewitt.
It’s an interesting point: can you imagine the outcry that would result if people died because Republican officials prevented the Red Cross from supplying them with the necessities of life? I can’t, actually. I think the hysteria would cause a media meltdown. But here we have Democrats doing exactly that, and it’s a closely guarded secret unless you follow the conservative blogs. It would be fun to interview a liberal news person and ask why he or she isn’t covering this part of the Katrina story.

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