If you draw the conclusion that the Federal government has far more knowledgeable and capable people than the state or local governments, and, I believe that this is clearly apparent, then you must ask yourself why the Feds would not step in and deal with the situation earlier than they did.

Most of the posters on this thread like to simply place blame on the local government and defend George and company for simply waiting for the call by those local officials. Clearly the call was late and the Feds, therefore, got started late.

But, that is not the intent of the thread. Bonehead has clearly ignored the intent of the thread because he simply doesn't understand it. The thread pointed out the fact that the Feds did not have to wait for a request and coordinate their efforts with the state and local officials. Therefore, the argument that the Feds were waiting for governor Blanco to request aid is simply BS. If the Feds had proper information on the strength and capability of this storm, as I believe they certainly did have, then they could have acted at any time. In fact, they could have begun operations before the storm ever arrived. However, this might have been a bit unrealistic. However, commencing Monday afternoon, they could have, and should have, begun the process of moving equipment into the area. Best I can guess, this didn't start for 48 hours after this point in time.

And, therefore, the Feds share culpability for this tragedy.