So, the point of that speech was....

what, exactly? A half-assed attempt to revive the President's plummeting poll numbers?

Where was the President for the 5 days immediately after the storm and flooding? He flies in 2 weeks later, gives a feel-good speech in front of a beautiful backdrop and expects us to once again buy into his role as decisive leader? Give me a break. The evacuees and victims deserved so much more, and so did the American people.

The plans are good, and hopefully the people of New Orleans will find hope and optimism in them. And, I sincerely do hope he somehow finds the money for all the promises he made last night--but where the hell is he going to find it? He won't raise taxes and won't cut spending. How he gets to play strong and decisive leader without ever having to make the tough choices escapes me.

It's just sad. Sad that this man is the man we chose to lead us. This is who we have to depend on in our nation's darkest hours. He's a good guy, and ya know what? I'm sure I'd have a great time "grabbing a beer" with him, even more so than John Kerry. But ya know what? That's not how we should choose our leaders. Ultimately, I think that's what we did in 2000 and 2004; now, we're paying dearly for it.

I once again agree completely with Andrew Sullivan's latest blogging:

I don't hate this president and never have. I'm just sick of him. Sick of the naked politicization of everything (Karl Rove over-seeing reconstruction?); sick of the utter refusal to acknowledge that there is a limit to what the federal government can borrow from this and the next generation; sick of the hijacking of the conservative tradition for a vast increase in the power and size of government, with only a feigned attempt at making it more effective; sick of the glib arrogance and excuses for failure that dot the landscape from Biloxi to Basra.