I'll refrain from commenting on the pretzel incident, but it's ridiculous for anyone to say that nobody could have predicted the levees would fail. Plenty of people had predicted that, for years prior to the storm, as well as in the days immediately before the storm made landfall in the US. I heard the concern expressed on the news numerous times as the storm approached the US (my daughter lives in New Orleans, so I was paying attention). I certainly didn't need any private briefings by high-level officials to understand that this was a real concern.

It's similar to statements that were made after 9-11 that nobody could have imagined someone would intentionally fly planes into buildings. Plenty of people had imagined it -- Tom Clancy even wrote a best-seller a few years prior to the event that opened with someone flying a plane into the US Capitol while the President was addressing a joint session of Congress.

People say the dumbest things; President Bush says a lot of them. It's amazing that he isn't called to account for them more often.