Clinton, Blair, NY Congressman Criticize Katrina Coverage

Peter King (R-NY) the new chairman of the House of Representatives' homeland security committee blasted the media's coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. King made his remarks on the radio program of Linda Chavez while being interviewed by substitute host Steve Malzberg. NewsMax.com picked up his remarks:

"The FEMA of ten years ago certainly did not do any better job under much less comparable circumstances than FEMA did this time. [...]

"Of everyone involved, certainly they were the least culpable," the House Homeland chief said. "I think the main fault was the state and city of New Orleans - they did a terrible job."

The New York Republican added: "Our response plans are based on the premise that the local first responders will handle the initial onslaught. We weren't expecting that the local government would do absolutely nothing."

According to this article, British PM Tony Blair and former U.S. president Bill Clinton feel the same way about the BBC's Katrina coverage.

As Clinton puts it: "There is nothing factually inaccurate. But ... it was designed to be almost exclusively a hit on the federal response, without showing what anybody at any level was doing that was also miraculous, going on simultaneously in a positive way."

Blair's remarks, as summarized by media mogul Rupert Murdoch: "It was just full of hate of America and gloating about our troubles."