Usually when a tragedy strikes like a cyclone or a hurricane, one would think that Laura Bush would flash the face of being compassionate to all the suffering people instead of an attack dog politician. Wouldn't there have been a better time to criticize the government?

Froomkin:

When a country run by a despotic and isolationist regime is laid low by a massive natural disaster, the diplomatic thing to do is to respond with a show of compassion. Not kick 'em when they're down.

More than 22,000 people have died in the staggering devastation caused by this weekend's cyclone in Burma. But when First Lady Laura Bush made her first-ever visit to the White House briefing room yesterday, to talk about what's going on in that country, it was not to deliver a message of goodwill.

Rather than announce the launch of a massive relief effort that could take advantage of a rare diplomatic opening, the first lady instead tossed insults at Burma's leaders, blamed them for the high death toll, and lashed out at their decision to move forward with a constitutional referendum scheduled for this Saturday.

The traditionally issue-averse first lady's concerns about the Burmese junta and its abuses of human rights date back several years, and she's been particularly outspoken since last fall.

But why respond to a catastrophe with such hostility? The awkward timing, as it turns out, may have had something to do with an event entirely unrelated to the cyclone.

"I'm going to leave tomorrow for Crawford, for Jenna's wedding, and I wanted to be able to make a statement about Burma before I left," the first lady told reporters.

Alternate Brain: One more monstrous, ideologically-driven, BUSHCO clusterf*ck. How are we all not dead?

Corrente: Froomkin demolishes Bush's arguments on retroactivity for Telecos

House of the Rising Sons: Things that make you go hmm...More at McCamy Taylor's Journal

Prose Before Hos: Every 9.74 days, Iraqi civilians experience 9/11.

Talk To Action: Bush's Evangelical Gatekeeper: 'The best damn whore around.'

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Alan Bock's Blog, TheZoo, Pop+Politics, Foreign Policy Watch

The Rude Pundit: Please don't waterboard Santa, Rudy!

The Pentagon is burning billions to equip the soldier of the future. With DANGER ROOM's Holiday gift guide, you can spend thousands, to get pretty much the same gear, today! Besides, who wouldn't love a lil' pink Taser for Christmas?

Make Them Accountable: Media malfeasance alerts and other valuable information on the press

Nieman Watchdog: Dan Froomkin points out that GOP presidential candidates avoid talking about G-Dub, for obvious reasons. Journalists should press them to say what they think of Bush's legacy.

Lawyers, Guns and Money: The 'Vote Fraud' fraud

BAGnewsNotes: Romney: A shadow of the real deal

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Nameless Cynic, Napoleon's Egypt, NPR Check, Bay Area Houston, Halfway There

At this point, it's obvious that the government's response to Katrina was pathetic, and the response to the wildfires has been competent, though as Dan Froomkin noted yesterday, “[D]espite all the forceful pronouncements from the White House, it’s not clear that Bush deserves much, if any, of the credit. And there’s no indication that his visit will expiate the Katrina legacy, arguably the second most defining aspect of his presidency.”

But that apparently hasn’t stopped Bush from taking a cheap shot.

“There is no hill he’s not willing to charge, no problem he’s not willing to solve,” Bush said of the California governor. “It makes a significant difference when you have somebody in the statehouse willing to take the lead.”

Unlike, say, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who was faulted perhaps as much as the Federal Emergency Management Agency was for inadequate preparation and response for Hurricane Katrina’s assault on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast?

You think? Two years later, and the president is still trying pass the buck.

For her part, Blanco said in a press statement that it took federal forces nearly a week to arrive in Louisiana after the storm. “I was the only game in town, leading for nearly a week without the president’s help,” Blanco said. “Of all the lessons learned from Katrina now being put into place in California, I would hope the one he would remember is that politics has no place in any disaster.”

So much for that idea.

Daily Howler: "Inauthentic" is the new "traitor to his class."

A Tiny Revolution : It's always a comfort when our envoys "like this violence."

Shakesville: "This is not a “We told you so” piece. It’s a “Here we go again” piece."

Orcinus has several recent posts on "why it's vital that we begin putting a human, and real, face on the immigration debate."

Pay no attention to the situation in Iraq, the real problem is Harry Reid criticizing Generals Pace and Petraeus! Would Tony Snow steer you wrong? Glenn Greenwald explores conservatives' shifting standards for criticizing the military and vets. Dan Froomkin notes an article showing that Petraeus' "astonishing signs of normalcy" assessment of Iraq contradicts the Pentagon's own quarterly report. Meanwhile, Steve Benen asks, "Which is worse, a senator’s mild, one-sentence criticism of a general’s judgment, or the president firing that general in the midst of a war?"

Guest round up by Batocchio (batocchio9 AT yahoo DOT com).

Amanda checks into the incredible number of mistakes the crackerjack team led by the ex-Washington Post man---John Harris---has accumulated in less than a week. You remember him don't you? He tried to get the wonderful Dan Froomkin fired. Anyway, their hackery is showing itself in record-breaking time. Oliver Willis posted Mike Allen's audio interview with Matt Drudge that speaks for itself. While the term "slow bleed" that the Republicans now use as an anthem originated from them, their credibility is quickly being flushed down the toilet...

Will Bunch has more: Rookie Mistakes Plague The Politico

OK, actually the headline of the piece that I'm writing about here is "Rookie Mistakes Plague Obama," and it's the latest effort from the new, right-wing narrative-boosting tag team of The Politico web site and Matt Drudge.

UPDATE: Glenn Greenwald: Drudge and the Politico -- poisonously joined at the hip

But whatever else is true, it is now inescapably clear that The Politico will be working hand-in-hand with Matt Drudge. That seems to be the very purpose of The Politico -- quoting a blogger with whom I exchanged email on this topic earlier this week: "to put the full stamp of legitimacy on the Drudgification of politics."

UPDATE #2: Media Matters lists some other reasons that the Politico needs to keep apologizing

Daily Howler: As C&L readers know, the estimable Dan Froomkin wrote that the MSM should start calling "bullshit" when they see it. The problem is, when it comes to our political reporting, bullshit itself has been the project.

Martini Republic: An unabated man-crush on Bush

NewsHog: Iranian weapons in Iraq--deja vu all over again

Lassiter Space: Interested in doing something meaningful about AIDS?

James Fallows: Getting out of Iraq: What's the right idea when all the ideas are bad?

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Hug The Moon...crack pot press...The Portland Freelancer

Froomkin

The legislation before the Senate today would ban torture, but let Bush define it; would allow the president to imprison indefinitely anyone he decides falls under a wide-ranging new definition of unlawful combatant; would suspend the Great Writ of habeas corpus; would immunize retroactively those who may have engaged in torture. And that's just for starters.

It's a red-letter day for the country. It's also a telling day for our political system.

The people have lost confidence in their president. Despite that small recent uptick in the polls, Bush remains deeply unpopular with the American public, mistrusted by a majority, widely considered out of touch with the nation's real priorities.

But he's still got Congress wrapped around his little finger...read on

I wonder why Republicans don't like him?

This Onion piece, by way of Michael Froomkin, is unfortunately hilarious.

In a decisive 1–0 decision Monday, President Bush voted to grant the president the constitutional power to grant himself additional powers.

"As president, I strongly believe that my first duty as president is to support and serve the president," Bush said during a televised address from the East Room of the White House shortly after signing his executive order. "I promise the American people that I will not abuse this new power, unless it becomes necessary to grant myself the power to do so at a later time."

The Presidential Empowerment Act, which the president hand-drafted on his own Oval Office stationery and promptly signed into law, provides Bush with full authority to permit himself to authorize increased jurisdiction over the three branches of the federal government, provided that the president considers it in his best interest to do so.

"In a time of war, the president must have the power he needs to make the tough decisions, including, if need be, the decision to grant himself even more power," Bush said. "To do otherwise would be playing into the hands of our enemies."

Considering Bush's penchant for signing statements, which highlight which the Bush has decided not to follow, this doesn't seem nearly as far-fetched as it should.

--Guest Post by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report

Froomkin