I can't do any more than speculate but on that basis, one way it fits together is for Nagin to have gotten nervous about having the Feds around without anywhere near enough cops to display to back up earlier claims of a force of 1700. That would explain why Blanco and Nagin both refused to allow the Red Cross or the Salvation Army in, until they'd cleaned up some things they wanted to stay hidden. It explains why Brown couldn't get any sense or information out of them, why the Louisiana National Guard were the only ones allowed in, and why the "blame Bush" ploy was implemented so quickly.
The Vegas yarn then, under that scenario, is a desperation ploy, when the state and local government can no longer hold back the Feds.
Another way it all fits together is....well, I can't think of one.
Can you?
Yes, I just wrote about it, my ideas...
I agree that it sure looks and did as it was happening that Nagin, Blanco and others in Louisiana were stalling for time, had ulterior motives for posing such obtuse and stange excuses as to the conditions there, appearing to thwart so many efforts to aid and assist and were just.far.too.quick.to.blame.the.feds; it just looked too questionable from the very beginning and once there was so much as a parcel of information out that Nagin, Blanco and Landrieaux (spelled? sorry) had not been competent on behalf of their own constituents, the blaming immediately increased as to Bush and FEMA.
I agree that Nagin seems to have refused anyone access to the area with odd insistence, drawing out ridiculous reasons why people were suffering.
Or was this a ploy to 'thin' the ranks by removing the 'ghost' cops from the city (so the absence of the nonexistent police was less noticeable) and take one last run at the treasury in paychecks and advances?