Yes, Virginia, there are blind partisans

A recent Mobile Register poll published today finds that most Alabama Republicans are pleased with President Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina, while most Alabama Democrats aren't. In the words of poll director Keith Nicholls: "I would go so far as to say (Bush's) actual performance is virtually irrelevant. If you are a Republican supporter of George Bush, he can do no wrong. If you are a Democratic opponent, he can do nothing right."

An Auburn University Montgomery political science professor, though, says the poll, conducted before Bush's prime-time speech Thursday night on Gulf Coast reconstruction, may not reflect conservative Republicans' distaste for the president's promises of big domestic spending. (My take on Bush's pledges: Many of them sound good, but I'll withhold judgment until we start seeing action, or inaction, on them in the next few weeks.)

The poll results also suggest that some people still support Bush but nonetheless are unhappy with the federal government's response in Katrina's immediate aftermath. Almost two-thirds of respondents, for example, gave negative marks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.