The problem lies with what has become of FEMA under the Bush administration. Prior to the shifting of FEMA to the umbrella of the Dept. of Homeland Security, and prior to removing a significant percentage of its funding, and under the direction of James Lee Witt, according to disaster specialists all over the country, FEMA was a model emergency management agency, and was doing a very good job of managing disasters (including the Oklahoma City bombing and 9/11).

After 9/11, when the Bush administration completely reorganized the agency and put it under the wing of DHS, and cut funding to FEMA (all in the name of making the US more secure), disaster specialists and governors from states that experience a lot of natural disasters have been saying that it has become very difficult to work with FEMA and that FEMA has become ineffective, and laden with mismanagement, waste, and cronyistic and politically motivated appointments.

To the extent that Bush is responsible for what FEMA has become under his administration, and to the extent that it did not function as it was supposed to in this disaster, Bush is, indeed, responsible for the extent of the disasterous consequences.