FEMA and the Feds Just Can't Win

For days we heard endlessly about the supposed lack of a federal response and federal management of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Yet now that someone is firmly in charge, in the person of Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen, and Allen is cautioning that New Orleans is not ready to safely reopen -- due to lack of drinkable water and emergency medical help, for starters -- Mayor Ray Nagin is huffily complaining that Allen may be "the new federal crowned Mayor of New Orleans."

It seems the Feds are only wanted when they can pick up the pieces of local mismanagement or when they make convenient scapegoats.