America saw a new side to George Bush this week. A president who hates to acknowledge mistakes admitted that he had messed up. "To the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility", he said on September 13th. And a president who is famously loyal to his staff effectively fired one of them. Michael Brown, the embattled head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), resigned on September 12th. Mr Bush had earlier praised the man from the Arabian Horse Association for doing "a heck of a job". After a fortnight of political flat-footed-ness, Mr Bush is showing some leadership. He spent the night on a warship and toured New Orleans in a military truck on his third visit to the region. As The Economist went to press, the White House was planning a fourth trip together with a televised address to the nation from Louisiana, focusing on the region's future and how the federal government would help. Whatever details Mr Bush lays out, one thing is clear. They will involve money-and lots of it. Congress has appropriated more than $60 billion to cover the immediate costs of the disaster.
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