Katrina Was Just One of Many 'Tipping Points' for Bush

Editorials, commentaries, and articles are appearing during the final days of the Bush Administration that Katrina was the tipping point that signaled the public's loss of trust in the administration. The main source of the theory comes from writer, Todd Purdum's ""oral history" of the Bush administration included in the February issue of Vanity Fair magazine." Mr Purdum is a fine writer whose diligent research has provided gainful insights into the inner workings of the Bush Administration. James Oliphant writes in the Chicago Tribune that it was "(t)hree years ago, (when)Hurricane Katrina and its chaotic aftermath produced a collage of indelible images. Among those was a photo of President George W. Bush, viewing the devastation below from the comfort of Air Force One as it jetted to Washington. Now, some of Bush's closest advisers say his administration's response to the disaster marked a turning point in what has become the most unpopular presidency in modern history. After Katrina (Bush's) tenure entered a downward spiral from which he never recovered." The problem with this analysis is that Bush only held significant popular support from the World Trade Center attack of September 11th, 2001 to the declaration of "Mission Accomplished" on May1st, 2003 . Before and after that short period of time Bush struggled to achieve popular consensus. He was not significantly popular during the elections of 2000 or 2004; barely eking out highly contested and controversial victories. The public never fully embraced Bush; they were deceived into supporting his administration through the strategic use of misinformation, outright lies and unchallenged deceit, the maintenance of fear of imminent terrorist attacks, the outright rejection of constitutional rights, the politicization of the Justice Department, the abrogation of international law and treaties, cronyism in the awarding of government monies, contracts and lands; the list goes on. Bush built his presidency on deception from the very beginning of his stay in office. Purdum's analysis suggests that Bush had a decent streak that somehow turned unresponsive to the needs of the American people. Bush never cared about the sanctity of the Office of the President, the Constitution or the American people. Purdum's contention that a 'tipping point' existed proves too gentle a manner to analyze Bush. Bush took office filled with a taint of corruption and a brazenness that Bush fully took advantage of as he operated the levers of American power to suit his deceitful needs.