I know what people thought, I was here! More than Katrina being an embarrassing chapter for Bush, I think it marked the moment when Liberals realized they could lie and manipulate the media to project the desired image.
I already said, the guy who headed FEMA was not qualified, and shouldn't have been in that position, and I blame George Bush who appointed him. But that was NOT the reason Katrina was such a clusterfuck, and GWB wasn't the reason either. It started from the local officials in New Orleans, all the way to the Governor of Louisiana, on to the Federal level. The Federal government and FEMA were never intended to be "first responders" in natural disasters! They have always come in AFTER the fact, to help with rescue and clean up efforts. The evacuation planning, the contingency plans for civic operations, and emergency management is the responsibility of the state and local government.
Five days before the hurricane made landfall, Bush was literally PLEADING with the governor of Louisiana to declare a state of emergency and start evacuating people... she refused! The relevant legal point and constitutional point of order, requires the state to officially declare an emergency and 'request' federal assistance! This never happened until the hurricane hit. Three days before the hurricane made landfall, with certain catastrophe pending, and NO action by the state officials, George Bush became the first president in US history, to declare a national disaster area BEFORE the disaster happened. Never before had been done! In fact, a case could be made that Bush overstepped his authority in doing this!
When I look back on what happened in Katrina, I see the Democrat state and local officials FAILING to do what they should have done, FAILING to be even remotely responsible, and I see the left-wing liberal media, casting ALL blame and responsibility onto Bush! You got away with it because people are inherently STUPID!