This is from an earlier "top story" on Fox's website, as revealed by Google's cache:

'"Some of them, it was their last night on Earth," Terry Ebbert, chief of homeland security for New Orleans, said of people who ignored orders to evacuate the city of 480,000 over the weekend. "That's a hard way to learn a lesson."'

In their current "top story" they seem to have changed their tune, er, spin:

'The overwhelming majority of those stranded in the post-Katrina chaos were those without the resources to escape — and, overwhelmingly, they were black.
'During a tour of damaged parts of her native Alabama, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended President Bush against charges that the government's sluggish response to Katrina showed racial insensitivity.
'"Nobody, especially the president, would have left people unattended on the basis of race," the administration's highest-ranking black said.'

Oh no, of course not. Now I'm imagining her continuing off the record: "The president is not a racist. He loves black people as long as they're multimillionaires and politically useful to him. He appointed me to his cabinet, didn't he? No, he would never leave people unattended on the basis of race. Those people were left unattended on the basis of class." Yay.

The Mcloughlin Group on PBS agreed that the politcal damage was a 9 on a scale of 0 (meaning no damage) to ten (a politcal disaster)however; they all agreed (except E. Clift) that once Bush 'got his arms around it' he could reduce it to a 4. It has been difficult for the spinmeisters to get a handle on it due to the holiday, but watch next week. Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Hannity et al will be beating the drum, I suspect, just as in the 9/11 debacle whereby the CIA director gets a medal, Chertoff, or Fema will be awarded for their leadership.

The New York Times, Sunday edition had a very interesting article by Richard Bernstein this quote summs it up:
"Why should hundreds die, mostly African-Americans, in a predicted disaster in the richest nation on earth."

Why indeed !

My Fellow Americans,

I will not say that The President hates black people (myself being an African American), but I don't think he can relate to what they go through to survive in America. I believe the bigger failure though (not the levee system) was the lack of funding to prepare this part of our community to be a viable part of society. Lack of education, votes against affirmative action, failure to increase minimum wages, decreased efforts to give hands on training with pay, disallowing them to take active roles in our military (as all of us can use a good dose of Israel example for everyone's enrollment even the presidents children. Minimum 3 year tour from the bottom up without special privileges for any individual), so when something like Katrina happens again then the Nation( ALL OF US) are ready to respond and the likely hood of the number of causality will be far less than the numbers we will suffer. I shutter to think what I would have done if I had to walk a mile in any of the citizen of the UNITED STATES LIVING IN THE GULF REGION shoes without the basic ability to leave when a threat such as this arises. I do also hold the media accountable for there lack of reporting of these conditions long before a natural/national disaster such as this. And now Mr. President, and Congress, and all the members of the executive and legislative branches of the government whether local or state or federal, Your actions to cut funding to much needed programs, and send the troops to Iraq to promote freedom in a foreign country without having swept around your own front door has made us an embarrassment to the World. What are you prepared to do about this entire situation for the long term preparedness i.e.. tax cut for your friends as opposed to implementing programs that are well funded for education other than just putting a lottery in place of your own oversight for fitting the bill with proper use of our hard earn tax dollar that you have no problem with collecting. Had we taken the time and the money to truly correct the problems that came after slavery and leveled the playing field on all levels (education, financing, justice, and assistance) would we be a NATION SUFFERING TODAY? I can see the mistakes that have taken place over Our Country's history, but have we learned from them? I'm afraid the answer is a resounding NO (NEW ORLEANS).

DEMETRIUS

Demetrius, Thanks for the thoughtful comment. I would agree that a period of national service is appropriate, but I have problems with that being linked to military conscription - particularly when Bush has put us in a war without end.

Whether through national service, or through the education system, everyone should come out of school with emergency preparedness training. I had a month long module as part of my Health class when I was in high school. I think it is a necessity.

There is pervasive inequality in the US on a number of levels. Both race and class inequality is playing out in New Orleans (as well as the impacted areas in Mississippi, and Alabama). This is not simply an issue of individual prejudice, but of systemic inequality exacerbated by the Bush administration's priorities. It IS clear that he really didn't care that much about the victims of the hurricanes. He continued on his planned schedule of vacation, fund raising, and photo opportunities. He may not be blatantly racist, but he certainly doesn't give a damn about the people of this country - unless appearing to care is good for him.

Not even WHEN appearing to care would be good for him. When an opportunity to pretend to be caring and decisive comes along, neither he nor (more surprisingly) his advisors ever seem able to recognize it. His Katrina reaction is just My Pet Goat times 100. I don't know what these people are smoking. Maybe they're asking God what to do and they keep getting a busy signal.