A Beaucoup Mess

As everybody knows, this time a year ago today, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, initiating one of the two biggest failures of the U.S. government in a generation -- guess what the other one is. I don't have very much to add to the slew of commentary already on the web, though Christy Hardin Smith's rundown of the situation is pretty good, and Steve Gilliard's photo montage cuts like a dagger through all the Bush administration's official cant about helping the victims and rebuilding New Orleans. He's done anything but.

UPDATE: MDPoliticsNow chastises Ben Cardin for talking about Hurricane Katrina in the context of a fundraising email. Because, as you know, Republicans never use tragedy for political gain. Seriously, though, the tragedy of Katrina was not some mysterious event beyond human understanding; it was a result of political leaders not doing what they were supposed to be doing. Why shouldn't Cardin make the point that, in situations like responding to natural disasters, electing the right people is essential?

Tags: Katrina, reconstruction, Bush