Michael Brown a scapegoat?

As bad as it is for the Bush admin that the FEMA director was unqualified/incompetent, how much more significant is it that the Homeland Security Director made incompetent mistakes in the "we'll keep you safe" administration. Knight Ridder has the goods.

WASHINGTON - The federal official with the power to mobilize a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina was Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, not the former FEMA chief who was relieved of his duties and resigned earlier this week, federal documents reviewed by Knight Ridder show. ........

But Chertoff - not Brown - was in charge of managing the national response to a catastrophic disaster, according to the National Response Plan, the federal government's blueprint for how agencies will handle major natural disasters or terrorist incidents. An order issued by President Bush in 2003 also assigned that responsibility to the homeland security director.

But according to a memo obtained by Knight Ridder, Chertoff didn't shift that power to Brown until late afternoon or evening on Aug. 30, about 36 hours after Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi. That same memo suggests that Chertoff may have been confused about his lead role in disaster response and that of his department.

The Left Coaster has a far more complete discussion with a far better analysis. They draw the link right up the chain to the White House. Click this para for a more thorough analysis.