Bush Laying Blame Or Telling It Like It Is?

The Washington Post says that Bush is laying blame on the state and local government's response to the emergency but it appears to me as if he is leveling with the American people here.

Bush, who has been criticized, even by supporters, for the delayed response to the disaster, used his weekly radio address to put responsibility for the failure on lower levels of government. The magnitude of the crisis "has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities," he said. "The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orleans. And that is unacceptable."

Additionally, Bush wanted the state to ask for a federal takeover of the situation but so far, the state of Louisiana has declined. And as of the writing of the article on Saturday, Governor Blanco still has not declared a state of emergency.

In a Washington briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said one reason federal assets were not used more quickly was "because our constitutional system really places the primary authority in each state with the governor."

What are they waiting for? When the situation deteriorated, why did the state of Louisiana tie the hands of the United States federal government?