GUSTAV AND NEW ORLEANS: Apocalypse Not. Well, good. Plus, this important point:

Cable news is buffoonish. This should surprise no one. What matters, though, is this: the forecasts were not “hype,” and the evacuations were not “hype.” Gustav had the legitimate potential to be far worse than this, and decisions had to be made at a time when we could not depend on the more favorable scenario that has instead occurred.

Better safe than sorry, but watching the TV folks doing the usual standup-in-the-wind routine this morning I just thought how stale that shtick has become. Stay in the studio and just tell us what’s happening. We’ve all seen newscasters with the wind in their hair now.