Stories such as this one (from the NY Times) show that the latest spin seems to be to use the Federal response to Rita as proof of the Bush administration's effectiveness in times of crisis.

This is ludicrous in the utmost.

Keep in mind, the Presidency is not an acting job. You don't get to rehearse. If you're going to try to claim efficiency and leadership, you have to be effective and lead the FIRST time through.

Just about ANYONE should be able to be on top of the SECOND catastrophe, especially when it is a lesser storm and follows closely on the heals of a "trial run".

The fact is, Hurricane Katrina was a HUGE failure for this administration. Hurricane Rita only shows that they can learn from mistakes (particularly ones that are costly in terms of PR).

Liam.