An Act of God, An Act of Men, and A Reckoning

Why was Bush's response so slow and his image so poor in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina? According to The Australian LINK Karl Rove also known as, "'BUSH'S brain' was missing when floodwaters swamped New Orleans."

The article states that Rove was MIA for the first 36 hours of the disaster and relief due to being hospitalized for kidney stones and that, "Once his condition improved, it was Mr Rove who urged the President, against the advice of White House economists, to spend $US200billion ($260billion) to rebuild the stricken city "higher and better", as Mr Bush went on to promise."

Rove's importance to the administration was underscored in not only the poor handling of the disaster but also stated directly by prominent Neoconservative and GOP supporter Bill Kristol who said, "He was out of commission for 24 to 36 hours and he's indispensable. It's a thin White House and it's not a good thing that the Government could become paralysed for a day."

However, tension between the GOP's more mainstream conservative values that emphasize domestic issues over foreign policy and the foreign policy obsession of the neocons was also shown by Kristol's comments regarding Bush's speech on the rebuilding of New Orleans:

"I hope he hasn't talked himself into believing that his legacy will depend on this. The truth is Bush's legacy will be determined by Iraq."

Kristol's emphasis on Iraq leads one to wonder about whether or not there is widening rift between the Bush Administration and the Neoconservatives that have set American policy since 9/11. The Bush Adminstration is now being offered an opportunity to leave a legacy of rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast and helping America along with an excuse to leave Iraq gracefully with the declaration of "Democracy Accomplished." The offer on the table also comes with the ability to continue the profiteering of Bush Administration favored corporations like Halliburton without the need for private security firms or an unpopular war.

However, Neocons who favor the expansion of "Democracy" and "American Values" through any means necessary may find their pro-war agenda and plans for expansion into Iran and around the Middle East thwarted by the unforeseen boon to Energy and Construction Firms that have profited from Iraq but at substantial cost to their image and employees' lives. A reckoning between Karl Rove and Neoconservatives may well be at hand.

Rove showing his indispensability via his absence in the first hours, may well have saved himself from becoming the "Sacrificial Lamb" of the Administration in the Plame Leak Probe that is expected to come to a head in the coming weeks. However, the threat Rove's redirection of resources poses to the Neocon agenda in Iraq and Iran may well lead the Neoconservative's to try and help the prosecution's case in burying Rove and replacing him with a more "Neocon friendly" adviser to the President. The wild card of course is Hurricane Rita which may cause enough damage to the already ravaged Gulf Coast that the Neoconservative agenda is stopped by simply not having enough money to pursue it.