Letters to the Editor
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The Tipping Point
That the semi-permanent Republican majority had not an even longer life was the result of the Bush Administration's rank incompetence. Most Americans didn't even notice Bush's radicalism until his programs began going awry. Iraq was an early clue, but what sealed that perception in the public's mind was Hurricane Katrina.
Whereas the federal government, in the form of FEMA, had for years been one of the most reliable -- if not perfectly so -- institutions of previous Executive Branches, its abysmal performance in New Orleans convinced millions of Americans that the White House was clueless and inept -- thus putting into question everything else on its agenda. Iraq was too distant to have the same impact; Katrina hit home hard.