I Feel Your Pain

Not to question the crackerjack group that brought you pictures of the President playing guitar while New Orleans filled up with water or that shot of the Commander in Chief surveying the damage solemnly (but safely) from the window of Air Force One... but what exactly is the point of this picture, brought to you courtesy of the home page of the White House's very own web site?


President George W. Bush hugs a worker while
visiting with emergency personnel inside the
Texas Emergency Operations Center in Austin,
Texas, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2005.

That he cares about office workers? That's he's mastered the fine and ancient art of the one-armed hug? That it was too sunny where his handlers had planned for a feel-good/look-good photo-op, so he banged a left and landed in NORAD's U.S. Northern Command headquarters in Colorado Springs and the nearest thing to a devastated hurricane survivor he could find was a stressed-out desk jockey? Trust me, I in no way mean to belittle anyone involved in the very real work of keeping our country and our citizenry safe... I only mean to belittle the people trying to look as if they are. And I'm sorry, but that's my only take-away from this...



... and this...



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