"That's the question Jimmy!"

As Clark Kent would say, pushing his glasses up by the bridge and giving a look of deep concern.

In a perfect union the 50 states would have a level of autonomy that would cause the federal government to fear and depend on the States, rather then the other way around. I don't blame Jindal. My argument for state's rights and self dependence isn't to attack conservative governors (or any governor) dealt the hand they are given at the time of a crisis. Jindal has done a great deal, as has Rick Perry in Texas, to make his state less and less dependent on the federal government. They've instituted 180 degree opposite tax policy; objected and even flat out refused "stimulus" dollars; had their states attorney general sue to prohibit the implementation of Obama's health care law, etc, etc. Picking Jindal out, having been governor for 3 years (or so), in the middle of the biggest natural disaster since Katrina, and suggesting he is an example of where I should temper my argument is a facile analogy. My argument has routinely been against the trend of more and more State's authority being handed over to the federal government. Jindal's inability to deal with this without federal men and material is not the problem - it's an end product, a symptom of a disease that's been spreading for decades upon decades. Part of this trend isn't even a direct result of bad State decisions to hand over that authority, rather it's new federal regulations forcing a State to develop and maintain new social programs, thus requiring a State to either take federal dollars or raise taxes (or otherwise adjust their budget). Making this stand against the implementation of federally mandated health care long in the coming. I don't blame Jindal - he's applying the greatest amount of Louisiana authority possible and demanding the locals be in command of any and all supplies from the feds. He's doing the best he can within the circumstances he finds himself. To support him yet argue against the trend is not a conflict at all. In fact once this fire is put out he could (and should) go before the LA state legislature, on live TV in a State of the State Address, and exclaim that the lesson of Katrina and the BP oil spill is above all this: their state should never again be at the mercy of a slow, distant, bureaucratic federal government. Then begin the state wide process of building a fund of money, material and men to institute the Louisiana Disaster Response Team (the LDRT) so as to deal with any natural or environmental disaster they might find in a future encounter, being proactive (much like the great state of Arizona), thus starting to reverse this long building trend of waiting on the feds to get it together enough to help. "We shall huddle in the dome and wait NO MORE!" would be my cry. I can't expect him to do it in the middle of this crisis, but I shall be sorely disappointed if he makes no effort in that direction (after dealing with the feds first hand in an emergency) afterwards.