[House Speaker J. Dennis] Hastert was still reeling from reaction to his comments earlier this week about the storm-ravaged city. "It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed," he said in an interview with the Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, Ill. Asked whether it made sense to spend billions of dollars rebuilding a city that lies below sea level, he told the paper, "I don't know. That doesn't make sense to me."

Former president Bill Clinton, when told of the remarks said that if he were present when Hastert made the comments, "I'm afraid I would have assaulted him."

Wow. That's no joke, Clinton actually said that.

Have you heard the conservative chattering skulls patting Bush on the back for looking out his jet window a few thousand feet above New Orleans? It's impressive. Bush had better not sit down too quick or else he might break one of their noses.

Have you heard that the Red Cross was repeatedly turned away from providing aid? The reason given is that such help might hinder the exodus?

Did you hear that Condoleeza Rice -- Bush's Secretary of State -- spent the other day playing tennis then capped it off with some New York City boutique shoe shopping? A customer started screaming at her. By nightfall she was headed back to Washington.

Nice.

I know that this administration thinks that accountability is an ephemeral thing. If there is an attempt at accountability too soon, it's finger pointing. If there is an attempt at accountability too late, then it's something you should get over. There is just a moment for accountability. Mr. Speaker, tell me when that moment will be. Tell me precisely when the moment will come for accountability for the failures of our response, for the failures of our planning that have led to the devastation and the hardships that we are see now. And Mr. Speaker, tell me where the line forms to ask hard questions.

I strongly urge everyone to head over to Sisyphus Shrugged for some hardcore spin rebuttal.