The points about faster response are valid, but the response was not up to modern technology capability. Walmart was prepared better than the feds using state of the art logistics and plain practical planning despite not being tasked with the responsibility. Most of those previous incidents mentioned were prior to 911 and we have spent billions on supposedly improving disaster preparedness. Where were the satellite phones? What moron expects regular phones to work in a situation like this?

The response was not acceptable and neither was local preparation. No one should be satisfied with the results and no one should be trying to make political hay while people's lives are still in shambles. Every minute spent defending against attacks is a minute that can't be spent figuring out a way to help those in need.

Criticism of results is needed and valid, trying to place blame at this point in time is not. The people in the convention center needed help and pointing that out was journalism at it best. The partisan press finger pointing in the midst of crisis recovery was journalism at its worst. It is their job to point the finger at all poorly performing officials of both parties once the crisis is past or at least well in hand.

The press needs to report where the problems are until their solved then worry about who's fault they were except in the extreme case of obviously foolish, incompetant, or obstructionist officials. Simply being too slow is a fault that can wait to be highlighted on an individual level as long as public pressure is put on speeding up the response overall.

Regards,
Mark