How does the Bush admin get its way?

Jon Chait describes what has been making the Bush admininstration seem so invulnerable in Washington - and actually be such a disastor in Iraq and on the Katrina disaster response.

why it is that the Bush administration is so ruthlessly effective at getting its way in Washington but so bumbling when it comes to handling Iraq. I concluded that Bush's domestic triumphs all rely on three elements: massive partisan discipline, buying off interest groups, and (for lack of a better term) lying. Unfortunately none of those tools is very useful in helping occupy or rebuild Iraq.

This was originally published before Katrina in the LA Times.

Now go back and read the following:

• Why is the Bush administration so incompetent?
• How does Bush think?
• Confidence Men: Why the myth of Republican competence persists,
  despite all the evidence to the contrary.

We are beginning to find the little guy behind the curtain. It's time to keep digging.