UPDATE: The Roberts Dodge is even more telling when you hear it out loud. Heard this morning on the Bill Press Show (With Christy Harvey), here is a montage of Roberts’ sound and fury which signified absolutely nothing. Listen to it here.

Some highlights from today’s dodging and weaving:

1. “I feel the need to stay away from a discussion of specific cases.”

2. “So while I’m happy to talk about stare decisis and the importance of precedent, I don’t think I should get into the application of those principles in a particular area.”

3. “I do feel compelled to point out that I should not”¦agree or disagree with particular decisions. And I’m reluctant to do that. That’s one of the areas where I think prior nominees have drawn the line when it comes to, Do you agree with this case or do you agree with that case? And that’s something that I’m going to have to draw the line in the sand.”

4. “Well, I think that gets to the application of the principles in a particular case. And based on my review of the prior transcripts of every nominee sitting on the court today, that’s where they’ve generally declined to answer: when it gets to the application of legal principles to particular cases.”

5. “Well, again, I think I should stay away from discussions of particular issues that are likely to come before the court again. “

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President Bush should be commended for finally accepting “full responsibility” for his blunders in managing the Katrina recovery effort. While he’s in the mood to begin taking responsibility, we’ve offered 10 other issues for which he should also be held accountable:

- The launching of a war of choice against a country that had no WMD

- The approval of interrogation practices that led to torture at Abu Ghraib

- The failure to disclose the true cost of the Medicare prescription drug bill

- The tripling of global terrorist attacks

- The 6 million more uninsured Americans over the past four years

- The $1.40 increase in the price of gas per gallon over the past four years

- The 7 percent decrease in real value of minimum wage over the past four years

- The 11 percent increase in poverty over the past four years

- The four straight years in which median household incomes have not increased

- The all-time high trade deficit, nearing $700 billion

Feel free to add to the list.

We’ve updated our Katrina Timeline to reflect some key facts that have come to light in recent days.

Some highlights:

Sunday, August 28

LOUISIANA NATIONAL GUARD REQUESTS 700 BUSES FROM FEMA FOR EVACUATIONS: FEMA sends only 100 buses. [Boston Globe]

Monday, August 29

8PM CDT – GOV. BLANCO AGAIN REQUESTS ASSISTANCE FROM BUSH: “Mr. President, we need your help. We need everything you’ve got.” [Newsweek]

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to secure relief from the federal government, according to a report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

There are a lot of right-wing myths about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. ThinkProgress has created this guide to help you set the record straight.

CLAIM — STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS WERE MOSTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR FAILURES: “White House Shifts Blame to State and Local Officials” [Washington Post, 9/4/05]

FACT – BUSH PUT FEMA IN CHARGE OF EFFORT BEFORE KATRINA STRUCK: “Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.” [White House, 8/27/05]

FACT — FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ABLE TO ACT WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM STATES: The Wall Street Journal: “Mr. Chertoff activated the National Response Plan last Tuesday by declaring the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina an ‘Incident of National Significance.’ The plan, which was rolled out to much fanfare in January, essentially enables Washington to move federal assets to the disaster without waiting for requests from state officials.” [Wall Street Journal, 9/13/05]

CLAIM — NO ONE COULD HAVE PREDICTED BREACHED LEVEES: On ABC’s Good Morning America, Bush said, “I don’t think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees.” [Good Morning America, 9/1/05]

FACT — LEVEE BREACH PREDICTED REPEATEDLY: Responding to Bush’s comments on Meet the Press, Dr. Ivor Van Heerden of the LSU Hurricane Center “I didn’t buy that because, you know, we had discussed on numerous occasions that a worst-case scenario would be if we had one of these major hurricanes and then we lost the levee systems.” A White House advisor sat in on the “Hurricane Pam Exercise,” a computer simulation of the possible effects of a Category 3 hurricane on New Orleans. The exercise found that “”¦a storm like Hurricane Pam would: cause flooding that would leave 300,000 people trapped in New Orleans, many of whom would not have private transportation for evacuation.” [Meet the Press, 9/11/05] Read more

The White House announced today that President Bush will speak from Louisiana on primetime Thursday night before a national TV audience. The announcement indicates that Bush will offer at least his eighth photo-op since his slow response to Hurricane Katrina.

Photo Op #1: Air Force One Fly-Over

Newsweek reported, “Photographers rarely are allowed into the forward cabin of Air Force One, but consigliere Karl Rove and other aides summoned them so they could snap pictures of the Boss gazing out the window as the plane flew over the devastation. Republican strategists privately call the resulting image””Bush as tourist, seemingly powerless as he peered down at the chaos””perhaps among the most damaging of his presidency.”

Photo Op #2: Rose Garden address

Bush: “FEMA Director Mike Brown is in charge of all federal response and recovery efforts in the field”¦ This recovery will take a long time. This recovery will take years.” [8/31/05] Read more

On the Senate floor yesterday, Rep. Tom Coburn (R-OK) broke down, openly weeping:

When I ponder our country and its greatness, its weaknesses, its potential, my heart aches for less divisiveness, less polarization, less finger pointing, less bitterness, less mindless partisanship, which at times sounds almost hateful to the ear of Americans.

Watch Coburn: QT Streaming

Here’s how Tom Coburn has done his part to mend the partisan divide:

Coburn on his 2004 opponent: It’s a “battle of good vs. evil.”

Coburn on the Oklahoma legislature: “You have a bunch of crapheads in Oklahoma City that have killed the vision of anybody wanting to invest in Oklahoma.”

Coburn on doctors: “I favor the death penalty for abortionists and other people who take life.”

Coburn on homosexuality: “The gay community has infiltrated the very centers of power in every area across this country, and they wield extreme power … Why do you think we see the rationalization for abortion and multiple sexual partners? That’s a gay agenda.”

Thank you for your efforts, Sen. Coburn.

told the Washington Post: “In my opinion, at least from 40,000 to 50,000 American troops can be (withdrawn) by the end of this year.” After the Post called the White House for comment, an advisor to Talabani said he “did not intend to suggest a specific timeline for withdrawal.”