And worst of all, it might get in the way of our political agenda

As White House Anxiety Grows, Bush Tries to Quell Political Crisis - New York Times

Faced with one of the worst political crises of his administration, President Bush abruptly overhauled his September schedule on Saturday as the White House scrambled to gain control of a situation that Republicans said threatened to undermine Mr. Bush's second-term agenda and the party's long-term ambitions.

Ah yes. A few thousand dead black folks? Tragic, just tragic. But the real tragedy would be if it got in the way of our plans to cut the estate tax and gut Social Security. Because the lesson that should be learned from the worst disaster on US soil in memory is... um.. that what we really need is tax cuts and less insurance. And more money to pay Halliburton to guard the people would be rebuilding Iraq if it wasn't so damned dangerous there that all our money goes to security and blowing things up rather than actual rebuilding.

But tragic, all the same.

Mr. Chertoff said Saturday: "Not an hour goes by that we do not spend a lot of time thinking about the people who are actively suffering.

Let them eat "thinking."