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It may have been mentioned on 1 of the shows, but I didn't hear it (Breau may have addressed it - didn't hear what he said on Wolfie's show except something about not enough money for the levees). I wouldn't be surprised if the LSM and the Dims start hammering on this as I've heard it a few other times this week from the Dims and their talking heads. One thing we need to be prepared for is 'Bush cut the budget for the levees'. I seem to recall that some have said that the levees are only built for a CAT 3, continuing to throw money at them isn't the best idea, and, that NO used some of the money for them to build a casino and other things.

Did a search on google to see what I could find.
Here's what I found on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funding_for_hurricane_preparedness_of_New_Orleans

A category 5 hurricane directly striking New Orleans was calculated to be a one in 500 year event by the Army Corps of Engineers [1]. The Corps of Engineers, along with Louisiana State University (LSU), and the authorities in Jefferson Parish have modeled the effects and aftermath of a Category 5 strike on New Orleans. The outcome was an unprecedented disaster, with extensive loss of life and property. The key problem is an effect called "filling the bowl", when the hurricane drives water into Lake Pontchartrain, which overwhelms weaker levees bordering Pontchartrain and canals leading to it and flows into the below-sea-level city accompanied by water overtopping the levees along the Mississippi on the south side of the city center.

In September 2002, the American RadioWorks aired a documentary, Hurricane Risk for New Orleans, describing the modeling efforts at LSU, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Jefferson Parish Emergency Management Center, the results, and possible long-term solutions. The official budget was highlighted as being far below requirements and is already being considered for increase. There has been criticism of the funding for hurricane preparedness of New Orleans.

<snip

The adequacy of funding for hurricane preparedness of New Orleans has been questioned in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Since 2001, many U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requests for hurricane protection projects have been cut back or delayed. Critics charge that these cutbacks were a direct result of funding for the Iraq war and the Bush Administration's tax cuts. Others argue that it is common for projects like these to be underfunded and even had the remaining 25% of funding requests been filled, it would not have helped New Orleans withstand a category 4 hurricane.

Southeast Louisiana Project funding:

2004:
Army Corps request: $11 million
Bush request: $3 million
Approved by Congress: $5.5 million
2005:

Army Corps request: $22.5 million
Bush request: $3.9 million
Approved by Congress: $5.7 million
2006:

Bush request:$2.9 million

This is on the Democrat Party Web site:
http://www.democrats.org/a/2005/09/funding_cuts_he.php

Look, this isn't about partisanship. It's about genuine accountability for the short-sighted choices they made. This administration has escaped accountability for its mistakes far too often.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune has covered the budget cuts in multiple stories for the past two years, and Will Bunch sums up the coverage in Editor & Publisher: