Don't get me started on Blanco, but it is curious that Mississippi and Alabama are under control without federal troops. Maybe because the Governors in those two states don't play!
Apples and oranges, imo. No excusing Blanco's incompetence, but the problems in the outlying areas are ones that we have dealt with before. Nothing like what happened in NO has ever happened; and evidently, whatever drills were run did not do much good.
I got a huge kick out of the MI governor warning potential looters that police had been ordered to take the "rules of engagement to the full extent of the law" {paraphrased but close]
IMO his use of military terminology made most looters have second thoughts.
One thing that is making the situation so much worse (aside from a governor that needs to step aside) is the flooding. The flood waters are gone from MS and AL, but obviously not in LA. =(