Bush is mum on Haiti's suffering.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Byline: Robert Steinback

Hasn't it always made you swell with pride to see generous Americans handing food, water and encouragement to grateful victims of natural disasters the world over?

Of course it has. We like to think of our nation as selfless and noble. We may be jealous of our tax dollars and critical of government spending on anything that doesn't explode, but only the most callous of us would argue for letting desperate neighbors starve.

Speaking of callous, have you heard President Bush's public pledge to ease the incalculable agony of the Haitian people in the wake of Hurricane Jeanne?

No? Well, there's a good reason. There hasn't been one.

Why hasn't America's compassionate-conservative-in-chief spoken out about our obligation to help our neighbors? Hasn't he been moved by the same photographs you've seen of wretched, dazed Haitian survivors waiting for a meal and a drink of clean water a week after Jeanne wiped out their homes?

Some 1,500 Haitians are confirmed dead, with at least 900 missing, in the floods and mudslides that inundated parts of the country. With survivors unable to obtain food, clean water and shelter, the risk of diseases including cholera and diarrhea is growing.