George,

I don't know about Democrats blaming Bush for the hurricane as Tyler Sewell suggests but we can certainly blame him for a lack of preparedness for the storm.

Yesterday, President Bush said “I want to thank all the folks at the federal level and the state level and the local level who have taken this storm seriously.” More hollow words because he’s not one of them. Bush has sought to slash funds that would have helped New Orleans prepare for a major hurricane. In fiscal year 2006, the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is bracing for a record $71.2 million reduction in federal funding. The cuts mean major hurricane and flood protection projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms. Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane was shelved thanks to the Bush cuts.

So maybe Mr. Sewell is partly correct?

Jeff Fracher (electronic mail, August 30, 2005)