[KevinTheOmnivore]

Max, I don't think it'll have the effect you anticipate.

History tends to be very abstract when it comes to our presidents. Can you tell me, off the top of your head, what was the most damning thing for the Van Buren administration....?

presidents are remembered in moments, images, elections, and deeds. You're right, katrina has been a blunder, but I don't think it'll change too many minds. The most important and popular presidents we've ever had (with perhaps the exception of Washington) have been incredibly polarizing figures. You either loved them or you hated them. There was rarely an inbetween.

I think that has already taken place in the case of Dubya. He will be remembered for 9/11, fightin' terrorism, and protecting America through the worst attack on our soil since Pearl Harbor. Also, the man won re-election. That puts him into an even more exclusive club among the presidents, another thing history tends to give a cursory glance at and say "hey, he did pretty well, eh?"

I may be wrong, I even hope I'm wrong, but I dunno.