Originally Posted by Marcus1124

I think it was rather the other way around, FEMA and Bush were faced with the problem of having to deal with a situation that was not only exacerbated by, but mostly caused by the incompetence of some at the state and local level.

Take the people "trapped" at the stadium. First of all, it was the assigned place for people to go in the event of just such a catastrophe, they were not "trapped" there. The issue then became lack of supplies, which is completely a state and local responsibility. It was the responsibility of the city and state government to ensure that designated areas for people to go in such a situation would be sufficiently stocked with food, water, and medications. FEMA was critized for taking a few days to do what all the planning expected them to take a few days to do, the only reason them not doing their job BETTER than expected was that the state and local authorities utterly failed to do their's.

I will say it again, Blanco's hysterical and thoughtless "send everything you've got" message was irresponsible, selfish, and merely underscored her own incompetence.