
Originally Posted by
MumblesBadly
Monday morning quarterbacking.
The levees were not of wide concern prior to Katrina. The common narrative from everyone at the time was that Kartrina would hit land as a Category 5, drench the city, and much of it would flood due to being mostly below sea level.
That's not what happened.
Katrina was actually far more mild than expected when it hit land. The levees caused the problem, but almost no one was talking about it prior to when it actually occurred.
I'm not saying that NO ONE discussed the levees, but in the endless news coverage I saw of Katrina prior to it hitting, none of the "experts" expressed concern about the levees.
I am not being partisan here. I have admitted that Michael Brown was a crappy appointee, and that Bush was foolish to praise him.
But anyone who rests most of the Katrina blame at the feet of anyone besides Ray Nagin is simply delusional or uninformed. Nagin was one of the most corrupt and incompetent major politicians of recent times, and he actually later went to prison.
I'm sorry that I'm ruining one of the most commonly incorrect Bush-bashing points.
Bush made a number of mistakes in his second term, but his role in the Katrina screwup was only minor.