Julie Mason writes, "One thing Bush likes to do in the Gulf Coast is hand out American flags to families rebuilding their houses. Long before he shows up, Bush's advance team scouts the non-hostile property owners in a neighborhood, and later, the president drops by and gives the family a flag. The White House thinks this makes for good pictures."

People in pain, their lives in the midst of a stalled recovery -- and yet this prez, lame duck no less (key point), makes photo ops priority #1. It's what they do.