continues to boggle the mind. One has to wonder if the whole whitehouse staff isn't in the oval with bush snorting a line or two. Their casual attitude toward the country's worst natural disaster is without precedent.
KATRINA -- DOCUMENTS REVEAL WHITE HOUSE'S FAILURE TO ACT: Despite the White House's efforts during Hurricane Katrina to blame state and local officials for not requesting federal assistance early enough, recently-revealed documents include a letter Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) sent to President Bush a day before the Hurricane hit. "I have determined that this incident will be of such severity and magnitude that effective response will be beyond the capabilities of the state and the affected local governments and that supplementary federal assistance will be necessary," Blanco wrote. Five days later, Bush assistant Maggie Grant e-mailed Blanco aide Paine Gowen to say that the White House did not receive the letter. "We found it on the governor's website but we need 'an original,' for our staff secretary to formally process the requests she is making," Grant wrote. "We are on the job but appreciate your help with a technical request. Tnx!" Earlier document releases showed former FEMA director Michael Brown failed to act on information he was receiving about the hurricane's devastation.
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