Resenter-In-Chief

Bush has upped disaster relief for the tsunami victims to $350 million. Good. Let's all hope that there's more where that came from.

Bush appears to be deeply hurt. He can't imagine WHY people have this impression that he's stingy. Cold. Arrogant. Self-centered and uncaring. And it doesn't even OCCUR to him that maybe - just maybe - people get that impression of his because of his own behavior. He's so totally wrapped in himself that he doesn't think it's POSSIBLE that the perception might be somewhat related to reality. In Bush's world, if something is wrong, it must be someone ELSE'S fault. It can't be his.

But the fact is that almost every other world leader cancelled his or her vacation and rushed back to work.

While they were doing that, Bush stayed hidden in his house for four whole days.

When he finally emerged, he spent as much time complaining about being misunderstood as he did offering condolences. With more than a hundred thousand people dead, and Bush spent much of his public time justifying his own actions.

And he doesn't get why people think he's self-centered and uncaring.

And then his initial pledge was paltry: 15 million dollars. Then, when it was pointed out how little this was, he upped it to 35 million. Meanwhile Spain, which is one of the poorest of European nations, pledged 68 million.

Only when he realized that he had created a public relations disaster - when it threatened to adversely affect HIM - did he finally increase the amount to something resembling real money.

You know, Bush likes to think he's a leader. It's part of the phony image of himself that he has in his head. But U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan - the current Hate Object of the right-wing - stepped up to the plate before George W. Bush. Gerhard Schroeder, Germany's Chancellor, stepped up to the plate before George W. Bush. To the utter horror of the right-wingers, President Bill Clinton stepped up to the plate before George W. Bush. Almost EVERYONE stepped up before Bush. He was on vacation. AGAIN.

And the so-called leader of the free world trotted along playing catch-up while everyone else took the lead.

And he can't understand why people think so little of him.