A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days

While many seem to think that the President's speech last night was finely constructed and delivered, there is the matter of the price tag to consider. Not to mention the worry that we are allowing ourselves to be talked into accepting more and bigger government--when there is no rationale to do so whatsoever. Tacitus is rightly worried on this score.

To be sure, the President swears up and down that such fears are overwrought:

President Bush on Friday ruled out raising taxes to pay for Gulf Coast reconstruction, saying other government spending must be cut. "You bet it will cost money, but I'm confident we can handle it," he said.

"It's going to cost whatever it's going to cost, and we're going to be wise about the money we spend," Bush said a day after laying out an expensive plan for rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast without spelling out how he would pay for it.

Bush spoke at a news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin hours after attending a prayer service in memory of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Addressing religious and political leaders at the National Cathedral, the president vowed to help rebuild the region with an eye toward wiping out the persistent poverty and racial injustice that exist there.

"As we clear away the debris of a hurricane, let us also clear away the legacy of inequality," Bush said at the cathedral. Polls suggest a majority of Americans believe the president should have responded quicker to Katrina. High percentages of blacks tell pollsters they believe race played a role in the slow response by all levels of government.

Opening the news conference at the White House Friday afternoon, Bush thanked Putin for sending supplies to the Katrina relief effort, saying the gesture would help "lift the spirits" of hurricane victims. The Russian said that Katrina provided "serious lessons" for Russia and other countries. Putin did not specifically mention the criticism of relief efforts in the Gulf Coast.

Also Friday, White House officials said taxpayers at home will pay the bill for the massive reconstruction program and that this will mean a deeper budget deficit.

Bush said it's important that government quickly fix the region's infrastructure to give people hope. Asked who would pay for the work and how it would impact the nation's rising debt, Bush said he was confident the United States could pay for reconstruction "and our other priorities."

He said that means "cutting unnecessary spending" and maintaining economic growth, "which means we should not raise taxes."

Glenn Reynolds's response is the best one. And like him, I am warily on my guard.