Just for a moment, the mask slipped.
This administration has tried very hard to construct an image of being compassionate and competent. It is neither, of course, but the construction of an image has been masterful.
Then, Katrina hit New Orleans, and just for a moment, the mask slipped. We were treated to the image of the President flying the opposite direction, for no apparent reason. We had the Secretary of State shopping for shoes. We had the Vice President being completely invisible. We had pundits saying that the only reason people stayed behind was to loot. We had it pointed out that the head of FEMA was a partisan hack who got fired from his last job of managing horse shows.
Of course, the fax machines started grinding into speed and suddenly, the pundits were changing their tone and Bush was visiting. But just for a brief moment, the fact that this administration is both profoundly incompetent and utterly detached from any possible kind of compassion for the real lives of real people in this country was clear for all to see. It was put into stark relief that the fundamental function of this administration is to deliver wealth to those who are wealthy, and that it does not really have the time for anything else.
The mask was slapped back into place fast enough, but with luck, everyone will remember seeing the skull under it.
posted 10:35