Heckuva Job

It's hard to believe that FEMA could screw up the post-storm planning after Hurricane Ike the way they did with Hurricane Katrina, but somehow they managed it.

It didn't take long for the finger-pointing to begin. The Federal Emergency Management Agency came under fire Sunday as emergency workers were left undernourished and dozens of trucks of water and food had yet to be set up at distribution centers around Houston and surrounding communities.

And no sooner had the agency -- widely condemned for its glacial response to suffering after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 -- drawn sharp criticism as its leaders and spokesmen began to say it was someone else's fault.

Earlier in the day, a FEMA spokesman said delays in setting up staging points to hand out needed provisions had been caused by blocked roads.

By the evening, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said it was the fault of state officials who handed his department the "unexpected challenge" of having to prepare distribution points in addition to delivering supplies.

State officials said that was a local responsibility, which came as a surprise to Houston Mayor Bill White and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett.

Lots of finger-pointing and blame-gaming, but there are credible reports that FEMA assured state and local officials that they would lead with the response. Interestingly, the only thing that has appeared to change is their media strategy - the governor of Texas is blocking reports from Galveston Island and the Gulf Coast to hit the teevee. This looks pretty bad.