Incompetent Government?

"Conservatives are not supposed to be cuddly, or even particularly nice," wrote conservative icon George Will last fall, at the height of national dismay over Hurricane Katrina response and Iraq chaos. "They are, however," wrote Will, "supposed to be competent... they are supposed to have an unsentimental commitment to meritocracy and excellence."

And there's the rub that is increasingly, expensively and fascinatingly plaguing the Bush administration. It is being blasted, even by its own party, on the Katrina debacle, roughshod war planning, the Medicare drug mess, Harriet Meirs, deficits — never mind WMDs and, now, shooting straight.

Hear about the current White House and the "competence gap" in its ranks.

Guests:

John Harwood, national political editor The Wall Street Journal

Thomas Mann, senior fellow at Brookings Institution

Jack Beatty, On Point News Analyst, senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly

Michalel Franc, vice president of the Heritage Foundation

John Fortier, research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute