A Higher Power of Clueless Apathy and Reckless Disregard

From The Political Wire, emphasis added:

"The federal official with the power to mobilize a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina was Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, not the former FEMA chief who was relieved of his duties and resigned earlier this week," federal documents reviewed by Knight Ridder show.

The National Response Plan says that Chertoff -- not Brown -- "was in charge of managing the national response to a catastrophic disaster." Furthermore, "according to a memo obtained by Knight Ridder, Chertoff didn't shift that power to Brown until late afternoon or evening on Aug. 30, about 36 hours after Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi.

That same memo suggests that Chertoff may have been confused about his lead role in disaster response and that of his department."