Check your facts CL, the Bush Administration response to Katrina was as near text-book as you can get in the real world. FEMA’s expected response time from request for assistance to boots on the ground is 72 hours. FEMA may not even begin to mobilize until local authorities have requested their presence. The reason for this response time is FEMA has relatively few full-time employees and must mobilize them once the request for assistance comes in.
The Coast Guard is a completely different animal. The CG has authority over all US waters and are trained first responders which FEMA manifestly is NOT. The Guard didn’t need a local request for assistance to respond because they already had all the authority they needed.
Moreover, FEMA’s job once they are on the ground is not to take over and fix things but to coordinate the activities of the various federal, state, local and private organizations assisting in recovery.
Stop drinking the Koolaide and do a little basic due diligence. A good place to start would be here: http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/2315076
