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I understand, but there's still this region of the United States that was just flattened.

I have no problem with helping those in distress. The problem I see here is that the left is using this as an excuse to move the nation leftward, just as they did with the Great Depression. FDR was not an ideological leftist, in fact, he campaigned for office on a limited government platform. In the name of political pragmatism, he moved leftward. A good case could be made, and has been, that the New Deal spending initiatives actually lengthened the Great Depression.

Fast forward to today. President Bush is making concessions based on political pragmatism. (I do not doubt that it is also out of sincere compassion) Without dropping an anchor of political principle, I fear that we are in danger of repeating the political dynamics of the New Deal. FDR started out professing a greater commitment to limited government than did President Bush. I would not be so cynical if there was any mention of the need for us to sacrifice and offset some of this spending with budget cuts elsewhere. In addition, this comes on the heels of the recently passed Transportation and Energy Bills. Couple this with the orgy of spending on prescription drugs, etc., in his first term and you do not have a track record of fiscal restraint. Add in the concession to the left that the poverty we have seen is rooted in racism and you have out and out pandering.

I agree with the President's supporters who say that we should trust his judgment on selecting judges. In that area, he has a good tract record. In the area of federal spending, he does not have a good tract record. I think that it is more than prudent for all concerned conservatives to scream bloody murder until we can be assured that the trend toward out of control spending is going to be addressed. This could very well be a historical turning point along the magnitude if the New Deal and we can not afford to rely on pure political pragmatism at this point.

Old joke-

Patient: Doctor, it hurts when I do this! (holds arm at chest level, extends it)

Doctor: Then don't do that!

I question the wisdom of anyone building on low ground in a hurricane zone. That the government encourages the rebulding in these areas is a sign that it has become divorced from physical reality. It became divorced from economic reality many years ago.