I was listening to NPR and Chertoff came on, I believe All Thing Considered and proceeded to argue with the host that they were supplying all designated sites, and that there was no shortage of food or water. Meanwhile, on the other line, an NPR reporter, who was PHYSICALLY AT THE CONVENTION CENTER told the host what was going on there.
Chertoff basically said the reporter was wrong, and that there were a number of rumors. The host fired back that this reporter was on site, had covered wars and refugee camps, and so this was not just a random report. Chertoff was very short with the host, and basically said they were wrong and all was well. And so we get to the basic problem...
The Department of Homeland security was created to stop terrorists, but has been given many of FEMAs responsabilities. Chertoff has neither the training or the expertise to handle this, and no one seems to know who is in charge. Half of the reports say FEMA, half say Homeland Security.
The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. As near as I can figure, Chertoff is supposed to be in charge, but he is a lawyer with no experience in these matters that I can find on his resume. Despite nearly a full weeks notice that the storm may hit the gulf, he is flying by the seat of his pants.
Add to that the fact that most national guard resources trained to handle disaster recovery, urban peacekeeping, and emergency resource distribution are likely trying to recover the disaster in Iraq, and you have what we have here today. It isn't political, it's factual.