The White House Is Working 24/7 On Rescue Mission...
...To Salvage Bush's Image Damaged By The Storm.

"The way that emergency operations work, under the law, is the responsibility, the power, and the authority to order an evacuation rests with state and local officials"

"The federal government comes in and supports those officials"
-Michael Chertoff on NBC "Meet The Press", September 4, 2005

"...we wanted soldiers, helicopters, food and water" said Denise Bottcher, press secretary for Governor Blanco of Louisiana. "They wanted to negotiate an organizational Chart" -NYT, 9/5/2005: "After Failures, Officials Play Blame Game"

"[The White House]...was echoed throughout the day ...by Republicans reflecting the White House line. 'We've picked up the ball and you can decide for yourself--you being the people in the media--who dropped it in the first place' said one Republican close to the White House."
-NYT, 9/5/2005: "White House Enacts A Plan To Ease Political Damage"

"Far from deferring to state or local officials, FEMA asserted its authority [and] made things worse, said Aaron Broussard, the president of Jefferson Parish, south of New Orleans. When Wal-Mart sent three trailer trucks loaded with water, FEMA officials turned them away, he said. Agency workers prevented the Coast Guard from delivering 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel, and on Saturday, the cut the parish's emergency communications line, leading the sheriff to restore it and post armed guards to protect it from FEMA, Mr. Broussard said. -NYT, 9/5/2005: "After Failures [ibid]"