Great diary over at Kos by counselor:

So, according to the White House and their letter to Congress, Bush has the inherent constitutional authority to do essentially whatever is necessary to further our national security.

But, remember the initial days after Katrina. Bush was supposedly helpless to act because the Governor of Louisiana had not requested the right kind of federal assistance. Remember? The law prevented Bush from just taking action on his own. Remember? Of course, we know now that all of that was a lie because the documents reveal that Blanco had made all the appropriate requests. But, now, in light of the arguments this Administration makes to try and explain why Bush has not broken the law with respect to the warrantless roving wiretaps, the hypocrisy is so thick I feel like I cannot breathe.

[…]

The other thing that weighs me down is this: Why am I, an attorney home from work for the holidays hanging out with his daughter, reminded of Katrina and Bush’s justification for gross inaction, but no one in the media seems to be?

Seriously, how hard would it be for someone with access to a microphone or a camera to ask this White House: “Why is that the President can freely disregard federal law to protect us from terrorists, but could not disregard federal law to protect the citizens of the Gulf Coast from Katrina?”

A couple of fine, fine questions. Comparing Katrina and post-9/11 emergency powers is right on because it demonstrates not only the hypocrisy, but the selective accountability of this Administration. The Administration has alternatively tried to claim sweeping Executive powers and shy away from responsibility. If we could rush to war with Iraq, why couldn’t we rush to evacuate save the Gulf Coast? Hell, both involve the National Guard!

This is a fundamental source of my own–and I would wager, many others’–distrust of the President. Our CEO President is a bad manager because we can’t count on him to step up and make the right decision and because, when he does step up, we cannot trust him to be ethical, constitutional, honest, or wise.

Great diary.