The Left Coaster: Chertoff Didn't Act

The Left Coaster is always good but this post from yesterday, citing proof-positive that the Bush administration should stop the charade of blaming Louisiana's state and local officials for shoddy emergency response, is even better than usual.

An excerpt:

“You were waiting for the smoking gun that would blow the lid off the right wing lies about Katrina and highlight the Bush Administration’s inept and potentially negligent response? After John Conyers established earlier in the day that Governor Blanco filed her request for assistance timely, the fine reporters at Knight-Ridder once again get the jump on their overpaid peers at the Post and Times and piece together a key fact tonight, that others like Josh Marshall have noted earlier.

“In short, DHS secretary Michael Chertoff abdicated his existing responsibility to activate federal forces without waiting for any request from Governor Blanco, and wasted at least 36 hours of critical time before empowering FEMA to act. And the system wasn’t the problem, it was the White House.”

The Left Coaster's Steve Soto gives mucho credit where it is due – to Knight-Ridder – but pulls this all together very nicely.

Please go here to read the rest.