Stray Thought

Stay focused on the people, the people of New Orleans, the refugees -- "displaced persons," if you prefer. Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, the hero of this debacle so far, gave us all a terse order before he and his troops went to work trying to salvage the city: "Take care of the evacuees, America."

Tune out the rest for now, if you really care about this place. There will be time to blame and time to punish.

But, once again, the civilian administrations of the United States, from city hall to the White House, reveal themselves to be on the whole a pack of effete bureaucrats adept at political blame shifting and ass-covering and utterly feckless in the face of a storm.

And once again the military showcases our best national qualities and emerges as the one national-level institution that can cope with challenges.

I'm proud of the military's men and women -- and every individual who is helping. I'm glad for all the lives they saved and are saving.

But this is not a good trend in a democratic nation. This is not the way it's supposed to be. This is not something we want to get in the habit of accepting.