Our Response to Katrina: Not so Bad?

Well, here's someone I'm not familiar with, Jack Kelly, expressing the position I've been getting ridiculed around here for mulling over. (via Instapundit. Maybe my new motto should be "I read Instapundit so you don't have to.") Kelly is sure that our response was better than average, however, whereas I've just been wondering whether that's true. But the mere fact that FEMA didn't save everybody, and didn't do so right away, doesn't really constitute an indictment of their response.

Anyway, before I get yelled at again (not that I mind that, really), let me just make it clear that it isn't at all clear to me that Kelly's right here, just that his position shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. My favorite quote in the piece, from a retired Air Force logistics officer:

"We do not yet have teleporter or replicator technology like you saw on 'Star Trek' in college between hookah hits and waiting to pick up your worthless communications degree while the grown-ups actually engaged in the recovery effort were studying engineering."

Heh heh. Agree with the guy or not, you've gotta admit that's pretty damn funny.