The Flood That Sank George W. Bush . 
George W Bush
Bush should have fired both men . 
There 's been a lot of talk lately about George W. Bush 's legacy in Iraq , and what it means for his brother Jeb 's hopes of following him to the Oval Office . 
When he was first elected , in 2000 , Bush 's rough-and-ready demeanor had a Harry Truman cast . 
Bush 's incompetence was ultimately responsible for the ineffective federal response from August 29 to September 2 . 
Bush , furthermore , embarrassed himself by flying down to the Gulf and claiming that "Brownie" was doing "a heck of a job ." 
The national media rightly ripped into Bush like never before . 
More than any other event of his White House tenure , Bush 's slow response to Katrina made Americans ask if he was a "bunker" commander , relying too much on cautious paper pushers such as FEMA 's Michael Brown and Homeland Security 's Michael Chertoff . 
After the attacks on the United States on September 11 , 2001 , Bush was virtually unseen during the first 11 hours , making only brief statements and effectively ceding the public leadership role in the crisis to New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani . 
Politically , Bush was wounded , never to fully recover , his standing made all the worse as the economy tanked in 2008 . 
Just as New Orleans 's levee system catastrophically failed to work -LRB- breaking in about 50 places -RRB- Bush had catastrophically failed to save lives . 
Bush chose to fly over New Orleans in Air Force One instead of doing an on-the-ground inspection -- a clear sign of aloofness , indeed , of fear . 
Even George W. Bush 's most stalwart supporters cringed at his disconnect from reality . 
Bush , like Michael Jackson in his days at Neverland Ranch , was living in a bubble . 
Bush was , quite simply -- as Coast Guard first-responder Jimmy Duckworth phrased it -- "out of the game ." 
Instead , Bush monitored developments mostly from afar . 
On the 10th anniversary of Katrina , with the advantage of hindsight , it 's clear that Bush 's lack of leadership in late summer of 2005 cost his presidency mightily . 
Unlike Ronald Reagan , after the Challenger explosion , or Bill Clinton , after the Oklahoma City bombing , Bush had failed to feel the profound implications of the moment as his predecessors had . 
But Bush -- a private man by nature -- was never a particularly accessible president or an outwardly sensitive one . 
Instead , Bush acted as though he were disinterested in the natural disaster . 
No matter how the Bush library in Dallas tries to spin Bush 's Katrina performance , we all know he deserved an F in crisis management .
[TGT] should have fired both men . 
There 's been a lot of talk lately about [TGT] legacy in Iraq , and what it means for [TGT] brother Jeb 's hopes of following [TGT] to the Oval Office . 
When [TGT] was first elected , in 2000 , [TGT] 's rough-and-ready demeanor had a Harry Truman cast . 
[TGT] 's incompetence was ultimately responsible for the ineffective federal response from August 29 to September 2 . 
[TGT] , furthermore , embarrassed [TGT] by flying down to the Gulf and claiming that "Brownie" was doing "a heck of a job ." 
The national media rightly ripped into [TGT] like never before . 
More than any other event of [TGT] White House tenure , [TGT] 's slow response to Katrina made Americans ask if [TGT] was a "bunker" commander , relying too much on cautious paper pushers such as FEMA 's Michael Brown and Homeland Security 's Michael Chertoff . 
After the attacks on the United States on September 11 , 2001 , [TGT] was virtually unseen during the first 11 hours , making only brief statements and effectively ceding the public leadership role in the crisis to New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani . 
Politically , [TGT] was wounded , never to fully recover , [TGT] standing made all the worse as the economy tanked in 2008 . 
Just as New Orleans 's levee system catastrophically failed to work -LRB- breaking in about 50 places [TGT] had catastrophically failed to save lives . 
[TGT] chose to fly over New Orleans in Air Force One instead of doing an on-the-ground inspection -- a clear sign of aloofness , indeed , of fear . 
[TGT] 's most stalwart supporters cringed at [TGT] disconnect from reality . 
[TGT] , like Michael Jackson in [TGT] days at Neverland Ranch , was living in a bubble . 
[TGT] was , quite simply -- as Coast Guard first-responder Jimmy Duckworth phrased it -- "out of the game ." 
Instead , [TGT] monitored developments mostly from afar . 
On the 10th anniversary of Katrina , with the advantage of hindsight , it 's clear that [TGT] 's lack of leadership in late summer of 2005 cost [TGT] presidency mightily . 
Unlike Ronald Reagan , after the Challenger explosion , or Bill Clinton , after the Oklahoma City bombing , [TGT] had failed to feel the profound implications of the moment as [TGT] predecessors had . 
But [TGT] -- a private man by nature -- was never a particularly accessible president or an outwardly sensitive one . 
Instead , [TGT] acted as though [TGT] were disinterested in the natural disaster . 
No matter how the [TGT] library in Dallas tries to spin [TGT] 's Katrina performance , we all know [TGT] deserved an F in crisis management .