Critics See a White House Failure to Communicate
WASHINGTON — Throughout his presidency, George W. Bush has been admired for his ability to set clear goals and doggedly follow a path to achieve them.
But Bush and his White House often seem to struggle when pressed to react to unexpected events, a difficulty highlighted Wednesday by the continuing furor over Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident and a congressional committee's sharply critical report about the federal response to Hurricane Katrina.
"There are maybe three or four things [Bush] really cares about, and on those things he will be clear, decisive and maybe even ruthless," said Donald F. Kettl, an expert on government administration at the University of Pennsylvania.
But Bush and his aides "are not very good at
The Cheney shooting and the Katrina response have raised tough questions about what the president knows, when he knows it and how the White House shares information with elected officials and the public.
The hunting imbroglio has sparked a related question about Bush's management style: whether he has provided the vice president too much autonomy in an administration in which Cheney has wielded as much influence as any second in command.
White House counselor Dan Bartlett rejected the suggestion that the two controversies pointed to communication failures among Bush and his aides. "That's just over-interpreting," he said.
Yet other observers, in both parties, maintained the incidents underscored concerns about Bush's willingness and capacity to react to unanticipated challenges.
"If the buck stops with you, you are the person who has to take charge," said Leon E. Panetta, a White House chief of staff under President Clinton. "I get the impression in this White House that the buck sometimes stops everywhere else but [with] the president
Some senior Republicans, including top officials from previous GOP administrations, privately said they shared Panetta's views.
One GOP fundraiser close to the White House said he thought the administration's response to the news that Cheney had mistakenly shot a fellow hunter Saturday so closely replicated the Katrina experience that he wondered, "Is this a bad dream we are seeing again?"
"There is a pattern here," said the fundraiser, who requested anonymity when discussing the administration's workings.
For Bush, the Cheney and Katrina issues jab at exposed political nerves.
