Guest Post

Today's special guest blogger is a longtime journalistic hero of mine, Carlton Abner. Eighty-seven-years young, Carlton - once called "the dean of the Washington press corps" - recently retired from the White House beat after sixty years covering presidents. But as you'll see here, his grasp of national politics is as strong as ever. - L.F.

When Americans huddled around their television and radio sets Thursday evening, many probably wondered why their favorite Westerns, domestic comedies and quiz shows were being preempted by a nighttime presidential address. After all, the Republic seems to be at point of relative contentment, what with the Russians at bay and the economy humming along nicely. Thanks to his congressional majority and big win over anti-war firebrand John Fitzgerald Kerry, the popular Bush could afford to rest on his laurels. Instead, this humble man from the Texas plains has devoted himself to the most important mission of our times: healing the lingering wounds of the War Between The States.

In his stirring call for Southern Reconstruction and an end to racial inequality, Bush has gone Lincoln one better. Moving far beyond the Emancipation Proclamation, he is asking us to invite the Negro into our homes, churches, businesses, and football stadiums in a spirit of brotherhood that I think will soon become synonymous with the Bush era. If there's a political motive in all of this, I don't see it. Due to the recently-passed 22nd Amendment, the many Negro citizens helped by his program won't be able to express their gratitude in a subsequent re-election campaign. The South, of course, remains solidly Democratic, even if the party nominates a liberal like New York's Senator, Harry Rodham Clinton. So it can only be with an eye toward history, not the polls, that the president proposes this ambitious rebuilding of the former Confederacy.



He is helped, of course, by bipartisan support. Just over his shoulder, sitting atop a black horse was none other than the founder of the Democratic party, Andrew Jackson. What a coup for Bush to win heavyweight backing from one of the opposition party's elder statesmen. And it speaks well of the president's sense of confidence that he was not afraid to share the spotlight with such a towering figure. If none other than Ol' Hickory himself is lining up behind the president, I'm sure we can expect many more endorsements in the days ahead. Perhaps the jazz musicians Mr. Bush alluded to in the conclusion of his address will begin whistlestopping through the Gulf Coast in support of this new legislation. With Count Basie and Duke Ellington on-board, the Bush bandwagon could kick up so much noise in Dixie that even the dead would rise up and dance a jitterbug to the president's new tune.

If there's anything the Administration lacks, it's a clever, memorable slogn that would sum up his plans and their hoped-for effect. Since the president's team is stocked with veterans - like PT Commander Bush himself - I suggest something martial, like "the War on Poverty."

C.A.

A Defense Of Bush

Less than two hours from now, President Bush will address the nation live from New Orleans. And not too long after that, anxious aides will address the president: "For Christ's sakes, don't drink that!" This speech from French Quarter - or as GOP Congressmen will soon rename it, "Freedom Quarter" - culminates nearly two weeks of damage control by the beleagured administration. But should this really be necessary?

Now, regular readers of Lomblog know that I've long been a fierce Bush critic. In fact, I once wrote, "If George W. Bush is elected president, the strong economy of the Nineties will disappear, he will bungle his way through a needless war in the Middle East, and large portions of the Gulf Coast will be destroyed." Pretty spooky, isn't it? What's more, I wrote that in 1989, when Bush was merely part-owner of the Texas Rangers. I guess I just have a way of sizing people up - in the same piece, I predicted that Richard Grieco's film career would go nowhere. However, I also suggested big, big things for Simply Red. Oh, the fickle ways of prophecy.

Anyway, I still think some of the hits the president has been taking lately are unfair.

For instance, all the talk about his famous five-week vacation. He was accused of insensitivity because he biked with Lance Armstrong during Cindy Sheehan's anti-war protests and plucked a guitar with country star Mark Wills during the earliest days of Katrina. But such revelry is far from unusual for a president facing a crisis.

Once again, history puts it all in perspective:



Here's FDR, just hours after Pearl Harbor, enjoying some friendly competion with one of the country's earliest racing stars.

What of "the Great Communicator", Ronald Reagan? He memorably eulogized the Challenger astronauts after they "slipped the surly bonds of Earth", but not before jamming on keytar with the lead singer of Norwegian supergroup A-ha.




And then there was JFK. During the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the fate of the world itself hung in the balance, he was photographed having a three-way with Marilyn Monroe and Angie Dickenson.



Insensitive? I call it "balancing work and play."

A Very Serious Editorial

My fellow Lomblogiacs:

It has been more than three months since I last posted to you. Much has changed in that time. Back then, Martha Stewart was still in ankle bracelets, Tom Cruise was still nominally sane and public calls for assassination were still considered un-Christian. But now we live in a very different world - one that not even Lisa Bonet and Jasmine Guy ever anticipated. Our troops are bogged down in Iraq. High gas prices threaten our economy. The fear of terrorism lurks in major cities all around the globe. And through it all, we are led by men whose incompetence is matched only by their smug evasions of public accountability.

Ok, all of that was true more than two years ago. But now it's even more true.

The forceful winds of Hurricane Katrina have ripped the lid off the American Superdome and laid bare the swampy underbelly of US life, revealing metaphors we never thought possible. Like the terrorist attacks four years ago, a horrific tragedy has enlightened us all to the true nature of this nation's security. We've once again learned that for all of our military resources, solid infrastructure and government protections, we don't really have much in the way of military resources, solid infrastructure or government protections. And the knowledge of just how vulnerable we are to Mother Nature's WMD will color much of what we do from this point forward.

Let me give you an example. I popped in a DVD of The Wizard Of Oz this weekend, a film I must have seen countless times before but suddenly viewed in a whole new light. I couldn't help but think: if a tornado hit Kansas today, the Bush administration would squabble with the state's female Democratic governor, Dorothy would perish before aid arrived, and Toto would consume her remains on live TV. Pretty sobering, isn't it? Oh, perhaps I shouldn't have shared this tidbit with my niece but hopefully my candor will be an example to others with babysitting duties during this tragic time.

Yes, the implications of Katrina will ripple through the American body politic for years to come. In fact, they're already rippling. George W. Bush's already thin reserve of political capital has been reduced to a point where Republicans lack even the moral authority to make Chappaquidick jokes. Environmentalists and other proponents of climate change theory claim vindication, as do millions of elderly Americans who refused to switch it from the Weather Channel. Many wonder if the anti-government backlash of the past few decades has gone too far when ordinary citizens who could've been rescued by FEMA found themselves at the mercy of fate and Sean Penn's nautical skills. The news media has turned over a new leaf, daring to ask questions and express outrage on behalf of people who are outside their target demos. Even cable news has redeemed itself - aside from Geraldo and Larry King, who are the very definition of "irredeemable."

Still, a simple question haunts many of us. No, not "how much does judging Arabian horses pay anyway?" but a broader one: How could this happen? How, in a country with this much wealth, this much power, this many Neville Brothers can we allow New Orleans to sink? I'm not sure but I think it has something to do - metaphorically at least - with having a leadership of wealthy, powerful people who can't be bothered to leave their ranches or even turn on the TV while other people are being flooded out of their homes. Or perhaps I've been on vacation too long.

Whatever the case, there is one bright spot.

The unity that eluded us during two national elections has arrived at last. For no longer are we "red states" and "blue states", but just one bankrupt, nature-battered, militarily-depleted, strife-ridden, black-and-blue state of disaster.

Three more years!!