Where was W.?
Buried in the "Storm and Crisis" section of today's Times is
a fascinating tick-tock by David E. Sanger detailing the process by which Michael Brown was relieved of his hurricane-related duties (though he remains, inexplicably, the head of FEMA).
Sanger's reporting suggests that the decision was a joint one between Dick Cheney and Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff.
What's remarkable about the article, though, is that it barely mentions the president, except to say that the decision to oust Brown was, after it was made, brought to Bush.
There's been talk before that Bush lives and works in a cocoon, in which he's isolated and "protected" from bad news. The fact that he wasn't involved in the decision to get rid of the disastrous Michael Brown is more evidence of that alarming withdrawal from reality.
