We Knew and He Failed Us

Arianna has the scoop. It may be stinkin' thinkin' to talk about what might have been, but I don't think it's too early to start learning the lessons we don't want to repeat. Many people in the Gulf region saw this coming and tried to say so.

In early 2004, as the cost of the conflict in Iraq soared, President Bush proposed spending less than 20 percent of what the Corps said was needed for Lake Pontchartrain, according to a Feb. 16, 2004, article, in New Orleans CityBusiness. On June 8, 2004, Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, told the Times-Picayune: "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that's the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can't be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us."

- Editor and Publisher

There's specifics on the numbers too. It could have been worse if Bush had gotten his way completely.