I just don't know.

Maybe it is respect for the dead, but I can't ignore the political ramifications here of months of bodies being shown, reminding people again and again of the fact that the response killed people. I guess it's important not to shock the Bush supporters into thinking.

NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. agency leading Hurricane Katrina rescue efforts said Tuesday that it does not want the news media to photograph the dead as they are recovered.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, heavily criticized for its slow response to the devastation caused by the hurricane, rejected journalists' requests to accompany rescue boats searching for storm victims.

An agency spokeswoman said space was needed on the rescue boats.

"We have requested that no photographs of the deceased be made by the media," the spokeswoman said in an e-mail.