Bush is unbelievable.

The federal government response to the disaster we call Katrina is in the news right now, and Bush has been bragging how well he handed it.

Yeah, Right. From Rick Perlstein:

In their goofy "Fact Sheet" the White House issued today about how marvy they've handled Katrina reconstruction, they include something not within spitting distance of a "fact": "The Administration Has Provided A Total Of $16.7 Billion In Federal Funds As Part Of The Largest Housing Recovery Program In U.S. History."

Doesn't that sound like $16.7 billion has been spent? Not really. That was the amount set aside. As I noted below, as of March, only $1 billion of it had been spent, almost all in Mississippi; then when the world found out what was going on, HUD spent but another $3.8 of it.

Meanwhile, let's remember what Katrina housing "recovery" has actually looked like. Remember the formaldahyde trailers? The government-issued campers contaminated wiht a carcinogen. Reported the Washington Post a couple of weeks back, "Concerns about formaldehyde contamination have existed for more than a year, but FEMA was slow to react, and when it did, downplayed the health risk. But lawsuits, environmental groups and warnings by independent experts and doctors have pushed FEMA to seriously re-evaluate the risks."

Then is also from Rick Perlstein

Here's one from last October. Within the homelsand security bill, congress specified qualifications for any new FEMA chief: "a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management," and not less than five years of executive leadership."

Bush signed the bill with a smile, noting specifically that it would "help our government respond to emergencies and natural disasters by strengthening the capabilities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency." The White House emailed that statement to reporters.

Then, quietly, the next week—anyone remember?—Bush dribbled out an 8 PM signing statement asserting that he wouldn't follow the provision because it "rules out a large portion of those persons best qualified by experience and knowledge to fill the office."

Yes: he said that the only people experienced and knowledgeable to hold an office were people who weren't experienced and knowledgeable.

And people really don't think that the Bush administration can really be as incompetent as its performance has suggested. But the fact it that first they are incompetent, then they lie about what they have done, and they hide all of that behind a wall of secrecy so that no one can really be sure how incompetent they really are or how egregious their lies really are.

Of course the wall of secrecy hides the incompetence even as it makes their lies and their lies about their lies harder to pin down.

Bush.is.the.worst.President.ever!