Given the huge nature (of the disaster), it is inevitable there would be areas of failure. There are a lot of areas we can look and say could have been done better. But if we look at the overall dimensions of the thing, we have to cut some people some slack.

There's a difference between a failure and a fiasco, ... A fiasco is a disaster of mythic proportions.

It's the nature of the disaster. This is far beyond anything we've ever done in this country. It's beyond our immediate capabilities for sure.

This was a man-made disaster caused by the failure of the federal government to properly construct the levees and caused by the failure of the local guys to notice.

There is a distinct difference between the name Christian and the nature of Christians.

If you can tolerate the humiliation and helplessness and admit that you're an out-of-control fuckup, it frees you from expectations that you can't possibly meet, promises you can't keep, and appearances you can't maintain; it liberates you from the ensuring cycle of endless failure.