Years ago when I was a single woman I used to see a good-looking man at parties I attended on a regular basis. After spotting this attractive guy at several events I decided that I would introduce myself. I went up to him and up close he looked even better but within minutes of the start of our conversation I could see that he was a complete moron, a zero. No sense of humor, no wit, no charm and very little brain activity that I could detect. I lost interest within seconds.

I share this charming little anecdote because I was reminded of it while watching our good looking but empty-headed President this week while the city of New Orleans blew up before our very eyes. People were drowning and dying in the devastation left behind by Hurricane Katrina and President George W. Bush belatedly gave what was perhaps the worst speech of his life filled with empty platitudes and his characteristic smirky smile. But if you wanted effective leadership and a strong comforting presence in the wake of tragedy you won't find it in George W. Bush, because you can't give what you don't have. People were finally seeing what I've known all along; President George W. Bush is an empty suit. A good-looking, well-educated man, who's intellectually lazy, spoiled, insulated, and almost totally devoid of empathy and leadership skills.

Let's be clear about one thing too, President Bush isn't responsible for a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina but his administration and the federal government are most certainly responsible for the lack of planning and preparation for this disaster. Republicans hunger for power and want to be in charge but absolutely refuse to take responsibility when things go wrong on their watch.

Let's face the facts. In 2001, The Federal Emergency Management Agency ranked a major hurricane strike on New Orleans as "among the three likeliest most catastrophic disasters facing this country," according to salon.com. And yet when this disaster struck President Bush opted to continue his vacation. Just two months ago, President Bush slashed $71.2 million dollars in federal funds from the New Orleans branch of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers disaster budget, a 44.2% reduction from its 2001 levels. A study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane was shelved as a result of these budget cuts. Roughly 35% of Louisiana's National Guard is currently deployed in Iraq, dozens of high water vehicles, humvees, refuelers and generators used by the Louisiana National Guard are also tied up abroad.

Four years ago in the wake of 9-11 the Bush administration had a unique opportunity to rally this country to the cause of international terrorism. Americans stood ready to do anything they were asked to do to fight this mortal enemy. I believe we would have car-pooled, conserved gas, taught our children Arabic, learned more about the root causes of terrorism & literally anything our President asked us to do. Instead the Bush Administration chose to spend $500 billion of our tax dollars waging war against Iraq, making it impossible to prepare ourselves against natural disasters. Nearly 2,000 of our young soldiers have died in this senseless war, tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed and still the war continues without an end game in sight. That's the real tragedy, that and the fact that America re-elected the man in the empty suit.