Gov. Blanco strikes good tone

I've been an equal opportunity critic throughout this Katrina mess. I really do think there is plenty of blame to go around. The failure of the Feds to follow the National Response Plan was probably the most fatal mistake of all because it denied desperately needed resources for several critical days after the storm. And for that, Chertoff should be fired. But Blanco clearly made several mistakes in deploying the National Guard and streamlining aid to evacuees. With that in mind, it's great to see Blanco take full responsibility for errors made at the state level. If you want to see a genuine mea culpa - and not the weasely Bush version - see what she had to say: "At the state level, we must take a careful look at what went wrong and make sure it never happens again. The buck stops here, and as your governor, I take full responsibility."

Clearly, Republicans in Louisiana were impressed with her tone (the article quotes a GOP state rep approving of her speech), as are most Louisianans who just want to get in with the cleanup effort. Hopefully the national media will pick up on this as they've generally portrayed her in a poor light.

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