Out of touch with reality

"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job!"

Thus intoned President Bush last week, standing in shirt sleeves in front of the microphone, with Michael Brown, head of FEMA, standing to his left and humbly mumbling his thanks to the highest official in our great nation for expressing such confidence in his credentials, ability, and performance regarding Hurricane Katrina

Barely a week later "Brownie" is suddenly removed from the New Orleans area, called back to Washington, and … as they say about old battle ships …"put in mothballs." Or as was once said about old soldiers, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away."

Now, it is not that President Bush was lying about his feelings as to how his good friend Michael Brown was handling things. The dangerous and scary thing is that he believed what he was saying. At least he believed it until his handlers finally sat him down and told him the facts.

Painful as it may be to admit, especially if you grew up Republican as I did and voted the party line so many years as I have, we have seen this president so many times expressing himself in ways that seem completely out of touch with the reality of what seems so obvious to so many and contrary to many expert opinions.

We have seen it in his expressed reasons for invading Iraq. We have seen it in his insensitivity to environmental issues.

We have seen it in his bulldozing efforts with Social Security. We have seen it in his pandering to extremist religious right groups.

We have seen it in his approval of policies regarding Abu Grabh prison and Guantanamo Iraq.

We have seen it in his heavy-handed treatment of a great American public servant, Colin Powell.

We have seen it in his backing of the horrible and unbelievable exposing of his own CIA agent, Valerie Plume.

We see it every week or so as he runs off to give his well scripted speeches to carefully selected audiences on this or that subject.

President Bush has been propped up by a controlled media on most every issue, but Hurricane Katrina has perhaps proved to him the well known admonition: "Don't fool with Mother Nature!"

Bob McClellan

Polson