The other day, after tornadoes tore through Kansas, George W. Bush leaped quickly and decisively into action. From the official White House transcript:

> THE PRESIDENT: Our hearts are heavy for the loss of life in Greensburg, Kansas. A tornado devastated that community. It just basically wiped it out.

True enough, but in the bigger scheme of things, Bush once again demonstrated that -- with respect to red versus blue states -- he's simply not an equal-opportunity national leader, and certainly not a "uniter," much less a "reformer with results."

In the case of the Kansas disaster, the WPE (Worst President Ever) was, as usual, more than happy to speak directly with a GOP senator and a GOP governor when disaster struck a red state.

But check out what happened two years ago when, in just one day, a record TWENTY-SEVEN tornadoes blasted through Wisconsin, killing one man, injuring many others and devastating several counties in the Badger state. The twisters wiped out hundreds of homes, factories and businesses. The governor declared a state of emergency and called on FEMA to help residents dig out.

What did Bush do?

Nothing.

No presidential disaster declaration. No presidential calls to either of the state's two Democratic US senators, nor any presidential call to the Democratic governor.

But it wasn't just WPE Bush who sat out the Wisconsin devastation. The entire federal apparatus remained willfully asleep at the switch. It was almost as if FEMA was out to prove that New Orleans was not a fluke, but business as usual.

After months of delays, the Bush administration simply turned down the Wisconsin's request for federal disaster assistance -- just like it blithely turned its back on New Orleans and New York City, post-Katrina and post-911, respectively. Big problems in Iraq, calling for big bucks, so none left for you, dontcha know. And YOUR National Guard? Assigned overseas and largely unavailable to help disaster victims.

The Wisconsin crisis, the Bushies implacably explained, simply didn't rise to the level of haughty FEMA's attentions. Fifty-plus million dollars in damage to private property? No problemo! Also, no cash-o and no loan-o.

Assistance aside, a better explanation for the federal refusal to help a state in sudden need was that the Bush team was just not going to be bothered to send money to a blue state after it gave its electoral votes to John Kerry. Nor while a key Democratic governor was campaigning for a second term. Drop dead, in so many words.

And, cuz, ya know, after all, in Bushworld, it's only poor, rural, red states that need federal aid. The blue states are loaded with wealth and can always afford to take care of themselves -- and the red states, too.