A Must-Read Primer on Hurdles the Federal Government Faced in its Initial Response to Hurricane Katrina

I think every person in the world - yes, the world - should read this article in the New York Times, explaining why the federal response after Hurricane Katrina seemed too little, too late. It shows the President had an option to act immediately - through use of authority granted under the Insurrection Act - however it was authority that had not been seized by the President since the Civil War.

I also believe this quotation sums it all up:

"Can you imagine how it would have been perceived if a President of the United States of one party had pre-emptively taken from the female governor of another party the command and control of her forces, unless the security situation made it completely clear that she was unable to effectively execute her command authority and that lawlessness was the inevitable result?"