Dateline: Home Study

It seems the Dems in LA want the Feds help with Katrina but only on their terms. According to MSNBC the Bush Administration tried to get Louisiana governor Blanco, to turn over the evacuation of New Orleans to them. She didn’t want to.

According to MSNBC’s article entitled White House shifts blame for Katrina response

Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state’s emergency operations center said Saturday.

The administration had sought control over National Guard units, normally under control of the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request, noting that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. State authorities suspected a political motive behind the request. “Quite frankly, if they’d been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals,” said the source, who is an adviser and does not have the authority to speak publicly.

Blanco made two moves Saturday that protected her independence from the federal government: She created a philanthropic fund for the state’s victims and hired James Lee Witt, Federal Emergency Management Agency director in the Clinton administration, to advise her on the relief effort.

Apparently she can’t do it on her own but she wants to stay in control. Wouldn’t be bad if she were a leader but…she’s not.