Dec. 26, 2004 - A 9.0 earthquake off the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island launches tsunami waves that slam shorelines in Asia and Africa, killing more than 140,000 people.

From the Washington Post 28 December ...

Earlier yesterday, White House spokesman Trent Duffy said the president was confident he could monitor events effectively without returning to Washington or making public statements in Crawford, where he spent part of the day clearing brush and bicycling. Explaining the about-face, a White House official said: "The president wanted to be fully briefed on our efforts. He didn't want to make a symbolic statement about 'We feel your pain.' "

Many Bush aides believe Clinton was too quick to head for the cameras to hold forth on tragedies with his trademark empathy.  "Actions speak louder than words," a top Bush aide said, describing the president's view of his appropriate role.

Can’t be like Clinton. 

Initial aid package was a pledge of fifteen million dollars, later increased to thirty-five million, then increased this weekend to three hundred fifty million.  This weekend Japan pledged five hundred million.

Perspective

Via Converger's diary at Daily Kos:

Number of deaths due to four Florida hurricanes in 2004: 117

Number of deaths due to Aceh earthquake and tsunami in 2004: 120,000 and rising

Homeless due to Florida hurricanes: 11,000

Homeless due to Aceh earthquake/tsunami: 5,000,000

US government aid to help Florida hurricane victims: $2.04 billion

US government aid to help Aceh earthquake/tsunami victims: $35 million

Estimated cost of George Bush's upcoming inauguration celebration, not including security costs: $40 million

US government direct cost, per hour, of the US war in Iraq: $9 million

Barry Schweid, The Associated Press -  

President Bush has named a delegation to tour Asia and assess the Tsunami stricken areas. Colin Powell and Jeb Bush will lead the delegation. They will be leaving on Sunday.

White House deputy press secretary Trent Duffy in Crawford, Texas said:

....including the president's brother, who has experience with extensive hurricane damage in Florida, "signifies the high level of importance that the president puts on this delegation."

The Ayn Rand institute says US aid to disaster victims is wrong, though private charity "may be entirely proper, especially considering that most of those affected by this tragedy are suffering through no fault of their own."

Josh Marshall - “I'm waiting to hear about the minority of victims suffering because of self-inflicted tsunami damage.”

So that’s the basics.

James Wolcott on Bush’s response to the tidal wave thing – it’s not just the tiny sum of money.  It an “affective disorder.”

I was pleased to see the President of the United States put down the frigging rake long enough to put on his best Sunday-go-to-meetin' suit and issue a public statement regarding the catastrophic tsunami.  "Earlier yesterday," reported The Washington Post, "White House spokesman Trent Duffy said the president was confident he could monitor events effectively without returning to Washington or making public statements in Crawford, where he spent part of the day clearing brush and bicycling. Explaining the about-face, a White House official said: 'The president wanted to be fully briefed on our efforts. He didn't want to make a symbolic statement about "We feel your pain."'"  Clearing brush?  What is he, Luke on The Real McCoys, Eb on Green Acres, or the cardboard cut-out figurehead leader of the free world?

Given the sedated performance he put on today, which resembled a clinical demonstration of "lack of affect" for beginning interns, Bush needn't worry that anyone will confuse him with Huggy-Bear Bill or accuse him of overdoing the empathy. He'll never be mistaken for a mensch.

Yep, Yiddish.  Deal with it.

Nathan Newman –

The reality is that the US has assumed global power, so it inherits the burdens of imperial responsibilities. The assumed right to unilaterally invade Iraq creates a converse unilateral responsibility to respond to the Tsunami victims. Whatever the formal democratic ties our government may have to the world, we have forged imperial ties around the world. Why does that not create moral responsibility in this crisis?

Natasha at Pacific Views -

Note to Bush: You're in a popularity contest with Bin Laden for the hearts and minds of certain segments of the global population in his war against America. Unf*ckinbelievably, you're losing what should be a no contest fight. A fight you should be able to win with (to quote a Bush supporter) half your brain tied behind your back, just to make it fair. Not only are you stingy, Mr. Bush, you're stingy in deeply stupid and dangerous ways.

Jesse Taylor at Pandagon

… even if our president is a callous sonofabitch, the American people are not. Head over to Amazon, where the front page is anchored by an enormous plea to donate to the Red Cross. That's money that could have been spent in their stores, and it's money they're asking you to spend in disaster relief.

And now the readers of Just Above Sunset.

Dick in Rochester -

Our president IS responding to the wave the WAVE has caused: the US is spending only 5 million less on aid than is being spent on the inauguration.  What's 100,000 or so dead versus deification?

Rick in Atlanta -

Regarding Bush's worldwide popularity contest with Bin Laden: A fight you should be able to win with (to quote a Bush supporter) half your brain tied behind your back, just to make it fair.

I think this pundit is wrong about this.

While it might be true of ordinary American presidents, I can't escape the suspicion that if you tied half of Bush's brain behind his back, he'd spend all day waddling around on all fours and peeing on the White House furniture.

Ric Erickson in Paris -

Paris: French media does not focus reports on what other countries are up to, but has mentioned that private donors in the UK have raised as much as the US government says it will make available for disaster relief. The French government has also said it will make somewhat more available.

Meanwhile TV-news is showing little old ladies who survive on sub poverty pensions, tossing ten-euro notes into the collection pot.  France-2 TV raised nearly 100 million euros in pledges during their telethon just before Christmas, but the French are opening up their wallets again.

Today's Le Parisien reports that the UN says that $500 million worldwide has been promised or donated already (on Thursday). Half of this was from the World Bank; and the rest doesn't include private donations.

The French foreign ministry says it believes 117 French were killed, and 250 were wounded. The toll could climb higher because there are about 530 completely unaccounted for out of an estimated 5000 French who were in the disaster zone.

Trouble in paradise - tolerance is required for those returning in a bad temper, complaining about their treatment by bureaucrats - after having showed up without passports or tickets and demanding to be repatriated.  Here they are at Roissy, suntanned and alive, fuming.  Well, they can post the usual complaint against 'X.'

Not so pretty on TV-news are the faces of tour operators who have whole hotels full of clients who have disappeared, because the hotels are no longer there.

Meanwhile the estimates of the dead and missing leap up by 10 or 20,000 at a time - from an initial 1400 on 26 December.

Black crepe has been added to the Champs-Elysées for tonight's New Year celebration.

Yeah well - just this weekend Bush upped the figure to 350 million - like he dropped a zero?  He's not a detail guy.

The first response on the net?  Jerry Bowles - 

The Bush administration's response to a humanitarianism disaster of epic proportions has so far been way beyond pathetic and decidedly unchristian.  The vacationing Shrub has been too busy clearing brush and riding his mountain bike to take a couple of minutes to say "Gee, brown folks, I'm awfully sorry about what happened" and "You can be sure that America will do its part" to help.  After initially pledging $15 million and being shamed by relief organizations, the administration suddenly found another $20 million lying around somewhere, which will just about bring the total up to the amount that Republican fat cats plan to spend on the upcoming coronation in Washington.  Most damaging is that this was a real opportunity to show a different, caring side of America to the Muslim world at a relatively small price (How much does it cost to say you give a shit?) and our president can't be bothered.  If there really is a hell, I hope it has a deep fry vat for tender little hypocritical Christians like our Shrubster.

The new figure is more appropriate.  But the whole thing just makes Bush look like a fool.

Clinton would have immediately made a sympathetic statement.  Can't be like Clinton - so clear brush at the ranch and say nothing for a few days.  The figure is what his conservative crew probably told him was appropriate - as Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world and the folks there aren't white evangelical Baptists, after all.  And they don't vote in our elections.  Have your spokesmen bluster a bit about how we're really not stingy and do lots of good and expensive things all the time - even if not exactly true (much on this in the press).  Add the zero and it looks like we were shamed into reluctantly helping out these swarthy odd folks with their odd religion.  Geez.