Another buried lede

I guess the paper of a company town like Washington is more likely to focus on the company than on one of its customers, but this is significant:

Other federal and state officials pointed to Louisiana's failure to measure up to national disaster response standards, noting that the federal plan advises state and local emergency managers not to expect federal aid for 72 to 96 hours, and base their own preparedness efforts on the need to be self-sufficient for at least that period. "Fundamentally the first breakdown occurred at the local level," said one state official who works with FEMA. 'Did the city have the situational awareness of what was going on within its borders? The answer was no."

There's a reason they promote 72-hour kits.

The Big Easy, indeed. But will the media place the blame where it belongs? Not likely. While they have covered the fact that this catastrophe was foreseen, they seem to want to use it to pummel George Bush. Democrats are always the victims.