Peace's link seems to make it clear help was asked for very early but I'm curious over some of this.

In Bush, we have a man who is quite free to appoint himself judge, jury and excetutioner over the rest of the world, a person who can start ilegal wars based on lies, can decide who is or isn't patriotic in his own country, etc.

But if there is an emergency in his own country, he would be forced to sit down watching reports on tv as a situation worsened over days, powerless to act until asked to do so?