DIONNE NAILS IT: He declares the end of the Bush era to have come with the realization that the president is really not keeping us safe. If the federal response to a hurricane is so poor, would it have been better in the face of a terrorist attack? Dionne says that the president can no longer count on the aura of invincibility to push his agenda forward.

BREAD, CIRCUSES, HIGHWAYS: Thankfully he can still count on Tom DeLay. Always there to say the absurd with a straight face, Tom reassures us today that the federal government has simply no fat left to cut. Riiiiight. It's very important that Alaska build its bridge to nowhere among the many other billions of dollars in pork projects lawmakers pushed earlier this year. VERY important, right, Tom?