I think it was a bad idea to recommend that a governor claim insurrection when there is none. That would set a bad precedent for the future. I can see where this could be abused.
It helps when people cite the whole quote rather than shortening and leaving out rather important parts of the meaning. Here is a quote of the entire sentence from W, with probably the most important part of the quote left in:
“Everybody’s blaming everybody else so I said to the governor, ‘Governor, give me the authority to send in federal troops,’” President Bush says. “By law, the president cannot send federal troops to conduct law enforcement without a declaration of insurrection and/or a request from the governor.”When you consider the quote in its entirety, it is pretty clear that Bush wasn't saying she should declare an insurrection but should avail herself of THE OTHER provision for sending in federal troops - which is a request from the governor.