"The Central Issue of this Presidency"

It remains a question of basic competence, says conservative Andrew Sullivan, in a comprehensive and definitive take on Katrina and the aftermath for the Sunday Times. Read the whole thing. The depth of the tragedy continues to stagger the mind as more and more information comes to light. Just heart-breaking.

UPDATE: a prescient column by David Brooks at the NYT on the development of a possible seismic shift in American politics. Money quote:

Katrina means that the political culture, already sour and bloody-minded in many quarters, will shift. There will be a reaction. There will be more impatience for something new. There is going to be some sort of big bang as people respond to the cumulative blows of bad events and try to fundamentally change the way things are.