Meanwhile, Nero fiddles

The American war on terror, Mr. Saffo argued, might fare better by outspending Islamic charities in Indonesia than by "pouring money into the sand" in Iraq.

Instead of actually trying to build real goodwill in the Islamic world and do some good in the wake of an unparalleled natural disaster, Bush soldiers on with him vacation. He shows tremendous leadership by angrily denouncing criticism that the U.S. has been stingy in contributing to relief in his first public address, three days after the calamity struck, chastising those who would dare to point out that the $35 million the U.S. had pledged in aid to the Indian Ocean region were misplaced, then a few days later he ups the total tenfold.

Now, $350 million might seem like a lot of money. And it is. But to put it in perspective, the $35 million previously pledged was roughly equal to the amount Bush plans to spend on his inauguration later this month. It's also equal to the amount the U.S. spends every four hours on the war in Iraq.

I'm not saying Bush should've done more and sooner just to reap political capital, but that he should've done more and sooner because it's the right thing.

It's truly sad that all those conservatives who claim the private sector is better able to provide services in a more efficient way than the government would be proved correct in the matter or disaster relief and aid. That's inconscionable. This isn't even an issue that's shrouded in politics like the war in Iraq. It's a simple matter of humanitarian aid to people victimized by nature. I guess Halliburton doesn't have a subsidiary to bid on relief contracts. There must not be large oil reserves in the Indian Ocean rim.