by Kevin Caruso

September 28, 2008

Michael Brown, the embattled former FEMA director, testified for more than 6 hours today in front of a House select committee concerning the failed response to Hurricane Katrina.

Brown was excoriated for his incompetence as one representative after the other slammed him with a barrage of harsh questions and comments. But Brown refused to accept any blame for FEMA’s deplorable response to the disaster; instead, he blamed New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco.

"My biggest mistake was not recognizing by Saturday [August 27; two days before Katrina made landfall] that Louisiana was dysfunctional," Brown said during his testimony.

He blamed Nagin and Balnco for not handling the evacuation better than they did, among other things.

But Blanco shot back in a statement issued by her office. “It clearly demonstrates the appalling degree to which Mr. Brown is either out of touch with the truth or reality,” she wrote.

Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Mississippi), may have best summed up Brown’s ignominious response to Katrina when he said the following: “You get an F-minus in my book!”

And the vast majority of the people in this country would echo that.

Michael Brown – You get an F-minus in all our books.

You are a disgrace.