But am not surprised that a visible group that had coverage by the media is going to have an inordinate influence on public perception, both inside and outside the city. Throw in the racial tension that has always been present in NO, and you have an situation that is not particularly optimal.

Anyhow, I'm not particularly one that thinks the jury on the situation is any where near ready for deliberation in terms of fault. I believe that actions are more important than words at this juncture. Those who want to spin these things in terms of blame (no matter which way), better be prepared to understand the force of their words.

Blaming planners for the last umpteen years ain't going to accomplish much - as the hindsight is that this type of scenario seems to have been ignored by lots of people. Blaming the oil business ain't gonna help as the consumers over the rest of the states were more than happy to consume that oil without consideration for trying to reduce consumption (same goes for global warming scenarios). Blaming local officials won't help much, since we are talking about one of the poorest regions in the country. Blaming (or even worse, shooting at) the rescuers don't help much.

I'll give credit to Bush for not sugar coating this thing - admitting that the response was not acceptable - without getting into a finger pointing contest. But for Marlowe's response to the crisis to be an attempt to do exactly what Bush has not been doing - assigning the blame to others - I have to say that I am not surprised about his lack of comprehension of the reality and perception of things going on in the Gulf Coast (just as he has no clue of what's actually happening in the other Gulf War).