You are probably aware that Bush is going to speak on television tonight. More details in this article on CNN:
Rather than speak before a live audience, Bush is planning to stand alone and broadcast his message directly into the camera from the evacuated city’s historic Jackson Square, according to a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity since the site had not been announced.
The square and its most famed landmark, the St. Louis Cathedral, were on high enough ground to avoid flooding but did not escape damage from Katrina’s 145-mph winds. Two massive oak trees outside the 278-year-old cathedral came out by the roots, ripping out a 30-foot section of ornamental iron fence and snapping off the thumb and forefinger of the outstretched hand on a marble statue of Jesus.
Remember the famous Bush administration stagecraft we were talking about the other day? Today’s CNN article touches on that…
The format of the speech — Bush speaking alone to a national audience from a famous urban site — is reminiscent of his address from the front of the Statue of Liberty three years ago on the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Quick reminder about that one…
The White House efforts have been ambitious — and costly. For the prime-time television address that Mr. Bush delivered to the nation on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the White House rented three barges of giant Musco lights, the kind used to illuminate sports stadiums and rock concerts, sent them across New York Harbor, tethered them in the water around the base of the Statue of Liberty and then blasted them upward to illuminate all 305 feet of America’s symbol of freedom. It was the ultimate patriotic backdrop for Mr. Bush, who spoke from Ellis Island.
I’ve been told that in the hour before Bush’s performance, Howard Dean will be giving the Democratic “presponse” on Paula Zahn Now. I think all of us should be presponding today, as well as responding this evening and in the days to come. There are a lot of good comments and suggestions here–please check them out. And let’s talk about what else we need to be doing.