The blowhards on the Right enjoy spouting false patriotism and complaining that any modicum of dissent sends all the wrong messages to "the Terrorists" we're trying to fight. One has to wonder what all the Jihadists viewing the catastrophe in Lake Orleans are thinking while watching utter mayhem descend upon a major American metropolis. Probably something like: "They're not ready for us one bit."
The complete debacle of looting, chaos, armed gangs and insufficient planning demonstrates that the American government on a serious level is not prepared for a major disaster. The lack of National Guard units, the slow, lumbering response of the federal agencies, ill prepared logistics, unavailable resources, no coordination; all these things demonstrate that the United States is not ready for any significant national emergencies. If they couldn't get this right, a huge hurricane predicted days in advance, God forbid someone ever set off a dirty bomb in the streets of Chicago.
Hurricane Katrina has sent the biggest invitation to fundamentalists imaginable to exploit our weaknesses and incompetence. It is reassuring, however, that if disaster were to ever strike again, the President would be willing to slice off two days from his vacation. The rest of us, however, would be screwed.