Political Issues Snarled Plans for Military Help After Hurricane - New York Times

Why am I not surprised?

For reasons of practicality and politics, officials at the Justice Department and the Pentagon, and then at the White House, decided not to urge Mr. Bush to take command of the effort. Instead, the Washington officials decided to rely on the growing number of National Guard personnel flowing into Louisiana, who were under Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco's control.

Gee, federalism is awfully convenient. If Bush was consistent on state autonomy (and returned the tax dollars to match) then maybe it would be easier to see this as anything but a snide copout.