What took them so long?

When the planes crashed into the World Trade Center buildings, George Bush wasted precious minutes sitting pretty at an elementary school (watch the video).
While New Orleans flooded, Bush again took his time to react, strumming his guitar, talking about medicare and celebrating John McCain’s 69th birthday (see the contrast in pictures). When he finally addressed the floods, he claimed he didn’t know about the potential dangers of flooding, despite warnings from FEMA and the odd blogger.
After looking at the great divide between HQ and Ground Zero, the soaring gas prices and the occupation of Iraq sapping resources, I ask this question: What took Americans so long to realise they voted the wrong guy into office?