I think the president had a brilliant stategery!!! By not coming right out with the total he was going to commit, he made all the European countries start falling over each other to out-do him and make him look bad. Therefore, they gave much more than they would have if he had just started throwing money into the air! < /sarcasm>
LOL...excellent analysis:)
Uhmmmm...GWB is a funny guy...sometimes he's cocky and forthright...but when it comes to disasters and genuine suffering he's humble- and he takes action rather than talking about it. He's a gem.