Wait a sec . . .

So I've heard various people and pundits saying that we can't pin the entire blame for the Hurricane Katrina aftermath on the Feds because FEMA can't come in without local approval, and that Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco didn't call them. Which, if true, I suppose is fair enough. Frankly, this whole thing was enough of a cluster-mess that there's plenty of blame for anyone who wants to step up for it. . . and many of the people who'd rather not, as well.

My problem with this is "defense" is that it's flat not true. A state of emergency was declared on August 27, before the hurricane even hit. From the text of the declaration:

Pursuant to 44 CFR § 206.35, I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster.

So the Feds were alerted,invitedd, whatever it is that the need to be in order to send in FEMA, National Guard, whatnot. However, it gets even better. According to today's Wall Street Journal,
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff declared that the hurricane aftermath was an "Incident of National Significance." This is more than a statement of the obvious. It's the official activation of the DHS's National Response Plan. And what does that mean? From the WSJ link above:

The plan, which was rolled out to much fanfare in January, essentially enables Washington to move federal assets to the disaster without waiting for requests from state officials. It then funnels help from all federal agencies through a single point of contact -- usually the secretary of homeland security -- a reform demanded after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

In other words, once the National Response Plan is activated, which it was, on Tuesday morning, Washington does not need to wait for local requests for assistance, they can roll in and assist totheirr heart's content.

To put it baldly, theadministrationn and its defenders are lying to you on two fronts: that they didn't have the request on a state level to intervene, and that they needed that request at all.