Blogoland

Josh Marshall and Juan Cole have interesting posts on the distinctly American reaction of George W. Bush to the Tsunamiquake.

In a word? Zzzzz.

Choice excerpt from the Washington Post article:

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.

There's just one thing to add to this. Fear of Clintonitis didn't stop W. from physically visiting Florida FOUR TIMES following hurricanes this fall, did it? There was empathy a-g0-go down there, from what I can tell.