O.K., I found it in a link posted by Q on another thread. That article, (very good btw) seems to blame all levels of government. Here is what I read"

When Blanco asked Bush to declare a federal emergency in Louisiana that day, Bush readily agreed.

"The president was told the evacuation was proceeding as planned for New Orleans, according to a senior White House official, and that 11,000 National Guard troops would end up in a position to respond. But Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the Guard, said there were only about 5,100 members on duty in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama before landfall.

At 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Mayor Ray Nagin and Blanco held a news conference to urge New Orleans residents to make arrangements to evacuate. "This is not a test," the mayor said. "This is the real deal."