Detached from reality

From USA Today

President Bush has shown that he can be empathetic, sensitive and decisive. But those qualities eluded him for days after Hurricane Katrina, and the lapse could become a defining moment of his White House tenure.

[...]

But there's another side to Bush. He can seem detached and unaware of the messages conveyed by his words and conduct. Bush decided to see Katrina's destruction for the first time from his jumbo jet and joked on his first trip to the disaster zone about youthful partying in New Orleans. He didn't cancel his vacation until two days after Katrina struck and didn't visit the region until four days after the storm. It's not the first time that side of the president has been visible. He taped a video for a 2004 black-tie dinner showing him hunting under White House furniture for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction as the death toll there mounted. His visit to Ground Zero came three days after the 9/11 attacks.

Bush's critics say his response to the hurricane proves that he's not a leader. "Oblivious, in denial, dangerous," House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday. White House spokesman Scott McClellan has dismissed criticism of the response by Bush and his administration as part of the Washington "blame game."

Blame game, I think it's calling a spade a spade. Lack of leadership is the polite thing to say when describing this President.