Hurricane Cartoona

The putrid swamp that was Nouvelle Orleans has yet to be drained. The body count hasn’t been tallied. The evacuees have barely settled into their new dome. The full measure of the scope of the scourge of Katrina has yet to be taken. No time to place blame, chirped President Bush, echoed by ex-presidents Clinton and George H.W. Bush.

White House tailspinners blamed state and local governments, yak-attack radio blamed liberals, Democrats blamed Republicans and vice versa. Some summoned the righteousness to blame the pitiful victims, while others claimed the high ground by blaming FEMA, global warming, the war in Iraq, racism and poverty.

Cartoonists don’t just play the blame game, we’re pros. Ann Telnaes reported looting at the highest levels. Dan Wasserman defended big government, if not this government. And Jeff Danziger inked perhaps the starkest, darkest and most unsettling image of Week 2.