READER ROGER ARANGO says that we shouldn’t be criticizing the efforts of New Orleans or the federal authorities:

Katrina tells us that nature is more powerful than any of us mere mortals can comprehend. But still, mere mortals do the best they can—as an emergency management type in a small rural Washington state county, I don’t see any thing else that could have been done. In short, the local officials did a brilliant job in evacuating a major city within 30 hours. They established a location people could go to so they wouldn’t die in flood waters. And the response thus far has been magnificent—is there looting: yes; are there other infirmaties of human nature? Of course—but let no one doubt, the response to this major natural disaster has been superb. And small nitpicking critics will cavil and snipe—but consider what might have been.

Well, it could have been worse, certainly. I do think that a firmer hand with looters early on, in line with “broken windows” theory, might have forestalled the more egregious lawlessness we’re seeing now. But this is a natural disaster without parallel in American history — like the Chicago Fire if it had spread across three states — and disaster relief isn’t like calling Domino’s. Nor does the fact that we’re Americans somehow offer supernatural protection from the consequences of a calamity like this.

Bridges are out, roads are blocked, boats are sunk, and all sorts of other infrastructure is down. Aid can’t get through in quantity until that’s fixed, at least somewhat. In a situation like this, the first week you get a trickle, the second week you get enough, and the third week you get pretty much all you want. We’re still in week one. That, as I’ve noted elsewhere, is why the standard disaster-preparation advice is to have enough food and water to get you through a week on your own.

Meanwhile, it’s interesting to see Bill Clinton slamming CNN for second-guessing and nitpicking.

My own take: Some of the nitpicking and complaining may well be justified, even beyond the inevitable dropped balls in something like this. But there will be plenty of time for that later. Right now, people should be focusing on constructive action, not point-scoring.

UPDATE: On the other hand, Free Will Blog, which was defending Nagin the other day, has turned critic, noting that the breakdown in law and order is a major holdup for rescue efforts.