The mayor of New Orleans' Katrina performance is:

[steve2470]

Please rate the mayor's handling of Katrina. Let's be civil to one another. We're all tense about this situation.

[Bluebear]

1. What I think he excelled at was his warning people...

to take this very seriously. He pulled no punches in stating the threat.

[Selteri]

2. He did the right thing and reacted when he should have BUT

He isn't doing anything he shouldn't have done or anything special.

[ClintonTyree]

3. In his defense........

there are plans in place for these situation. To "wing it", and change those plans on the run could lead to a more catastrophic result than following the prescribed plan.
I know that to be true on a local level anyway, I'm part of the emergency preparedness for our county. One thing they beat into your head is to "follow the plan" to avoid confusion. If someone changes just one thing it can snowball into a nightmare. At least, that's what we're told. Follow the plan.
I think the Mayor, who followed the plan and DID do even more than was expected, is to be commended.
We're all armchair quarterbacks here. We all think more could have been done, but until you're in that position with all of the stress and responsibility squarely on your shoulders, I think we should reserve judgment and let them do their work.