Political Commentary

When it was just the poor who were affected by an economic meltdown, nobody really paid much attention to them because they had no political clout. Now that the middle class and even wealthier people are being thrown into the economic sewer, the poor might actually start exercising more clout after all.

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Why is our dictator worse than Herbert Hoover? It's because he has a personality flaw which made matters worse.

In short, it's his inability to admit he made mistakes, or stubbornness, or rigidity that made him such a piss-poor president:

For whatever reasons--his difficult family history, his problems with addiction, his failed careers before entering politics, his strong religious convictions--Bush has seemed to be comfortable only when he could make quick and firm decisions, however complicated the issue, and then move on. Admitting mistakes or changing course seems almost contrary to his nature. The "unitary executive," which Dick Cheney has so energetically implemented and defended, was the perfect vehicle for Bush's tendency to prefer conviction over practicality. When Congress passed laws that challenged his convictions, the White House changed them through signing statements. When the Supreme Court struck down policies Bush believed in, the White House largely ignored the decisions. When military leaders pointed out the futility of wartime strategies, Bush ignored the generals and waited for Rumsfeld to replace them. When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Bush was not only slow to act, but also never took any significant steps to repair the damage that his administration had done to the agency that was supposed to have helped rebuild the city. FEMA today is little better prepared for another Katrina than it was in 2005.