Jeremy Paxman (Newsnight) suggested last week that George Bush's misjudged comments about, and reactions to, Katrina might be considered political autism.
" 'The good news is - and it's hard for some to see it now - that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house - there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch.' (Laughter)." - president George W. Bush, today [2 September]. Just think of that quote for a minute; and the laughter that followed. The poor and the black are dying, dead, drowned and desperate in New Orleans and elsewhere. But the president manages to talk about the future "fantastic" porch of a rich, powerful white man who only recently resigned his position because he regretted the failure of Strom Thurmond to hold back the tide of racial desegregation.
Now, Philip has drawn together three of the most notorious, recent comments made in the wake of Katrina by other Republican figures:
Barbara Bush: 'Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them.'
Tom DeLay, US House Majority Leader, visiting the Houston Astrodome and meeting some child evacuees: 'Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?'
Republican Congressman Richard Baker: 'We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did.'
John Naughton quotes Rupert Cornwell from Saturday's Independent:
On their visits to the stricken region, [Bush] and Vice President Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld the Defence Secretary, have given the impression of corporate bosses inspecting damaged plant at a poorly performing subsidiary.
'Political autism' is surely far too kind a witty phrase to describe this dislocation of empathy and understanding.
