Bush and the Tsunami

President Bush's slow response to the catastrophe in South Asia has been replaced by almost hectic action. The extension of $350 million in aid can only be applauded.

More on that, but first a comment on the President's delayed response--it was three days before he uttered a word in public about it, side from a perfunctory statement issued by a deputy press secretary. Edwin Chen of the Los Angeles Times suggests that this was part of a pattern of the President's, and suggests that it stems from a "laid-back quality" in his approach to his office. Another interpretation is that it stems from a sense that what happens overseas is not important. The President is, in many respects, Midland, Texas, to the core. That is part of his strength. But a weakness is that he is insular--oriented toward the United States almost exclusively; little inclined to learn about or appreciate foreigners and their cultures. Indeed, he came to the presidency with little experience overseas. Not that he is incapable of understanding others. However, with an approach to life marked by an unquestioning self-confidence and a disinclination to either analyze his own thinking or to surround himself with people with differing points of view, he seems to choose not to open himself to the kind of perspectives that are necessary to understand people who have been raised to think differently from Americans. This approach permeates his statements on democracy and freedom in the Middle East and elsewhere.

But enough of that complaint. The President is taking full advantage of the opportunity that the tsunami gives us to do a great deal of good in the lands around the Indian Ocean. This may well create goodwill in many of those countries, including several that are Muslim, with implications for the conflict in Iraq that can only be good. Beyond the good it does us, extending long-term aid to repair the damage done to the infrastructure of these countries and to lay the basis for prosperity extending far into the future can do the people of the region immeasurable good. That is not merely self-serving; it is generous and charitable. The President should be praised and encouraged.