Barbara Bush’s remark [that relocation to Texas is working very well for New Orleans’ poor evacuees] – while reviewing the temporary shelter provided for the displaced people in the wake of Hurricane Katrina – was insensitive; but more, it was probably honest. The Bushes, clearly, have never had to experience the hard edge of life so familiar to ordinary Americans.

The president’s mother, in letting slip with what she really thinks, may have done us all a favor in giving us a rare, unadorned look at what our leadership really thinks about the public.

When Mrs. Bush suggested that the people made homeless by the storm were “underprivileged” anyway, and so, would not find the shelters that much less than to what they were accustomed, she was giving us some insight into the Bush family perspective.

And so, Katrina, in venting her fury upon New Orleans, also provided us with a clue as to what really ails the nation: an obvious disrespect for ordinary people by the very people elected to support and protect the least of us.

Barbara Bush should note that real people have real feelings – and are used to home and stability, not just temporary shelter; something our American royalty seems to find difficulty in comprehending.

Gordon Hammond

Westfield