>> FEMA has extraordinary power and latitude in dealing with emergencies of Katrina's magnitude.
Not true.
>> Mike Brown, as an appointee of Pres. Bush (possibly through Chertoff of Homeland Security) deserves the hit (and by extension, Bush) at the federal level, for a woefully inadequate initial response <<
How was Brown's initial response 'woefully inadequate'?
I believe they could have begun operations several days earlier. In a crisis like this, hours count.
Given that my first belief is in error and that they couldn't have begun operations several days earlier, I believe their ability to communicate their actions to the public, either directly or indirectly, was apallingly lacking. In a democracy, representative or otherwise, effective communication is everything.