LA Governor didn't take the steps necessary to request emergency and major disaster declarations:
So far as I have been aware, the criticisms of Gov. Blanco have focused on her failures to organize reponse at the state level (such as ordering evacuation of the city--something Bush had no power to do), along with her reluctance to allow National Guard assistance from other states under presidential authority (commander-in-chief, don't you know).
It's really a pity that POAC customarily avoids pointing to some source for the alleged talking points. Though maybe that would prove just as much an embarrassment as their attempts to debunk the talking points ...
Here's here's POAC's "counterspin" (aka "spin"):
Blanco pushed all the paper she was supposed to push, prior to the storm hitting, to rouse FEMA into action. (.PDF)
Governor Blanco asks President to Declare an Emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina
These sources are likely to confirm that Blanco asked for assistance MOL appropriately, but as noted Blanco's critics accused her of failing in state preparations--nothing to do with FEMA.
Plus I found this aspect of the .pdf interesting:
As reflected in the attachments you provided with your letter, Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco requested, by letter dated August 27, 2005, addressed to the President of the United States, through the Regional Director of FEMA Region VI, that the President declare an emergency for the state of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina for the time period from August 26, 2005, and continuing, pursuant to Section 501(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C.{{5121-5206, and implemented by 44 C.F.R. {{ 206.35.The letter is dated after the beginning of the duration of the aid requested. Now, for all I know that's standard operating procedure in the land of government documents--but it struck me as funny.
(the red bits indicate where my keyboard did not have a symbol used in the report)
Here's an MSNBC rundown on Blanco's mistakes.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 — It was Gov. Blanco's first big disaster — and less than 48 hours before Katrina hit, she reassured the state."I believe we are prepared," she said in Jefferson Parish on Aug. 27. "That's the one thing that I've always been able to brag about."
Though experts had warned it would take 48 hours to evacuate New Orleans, Blanco did not order a mandatory evacuation that Saturday.
(read it all)
I did find a Snopes.com entry on a circulating e-mail that blamed Blanco for not asking for assistance early enough. Mainly, however, one is struck by the vast difference between the effectiveness of the Snopes entry compared to what POAC produced.
I won't count this one as an abject POAC failure, however. Though their treatment was amateurish (and probably needless), it was accurate in essence.
