What he knew

The President in 2004: "Had I had any inkling whatsoever that people were going to fly airplanes into buildings, we would have moved heaven and earth to protect the country. Just like we're working to prevent further attacks."

Hurricane Katrina was like 9/11 with a warning. Here is what the President knew--and ignored--about the coming storm while he remained on vacation:

National Weather Service: INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW ORLEANS HAS ISSUED AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING.

EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE KATRINA CONTINUES TO APPROACH THE AREA. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS WILL SPREAD NORTH OF LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN AND ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI COAST THROUGH DAYBREAK...AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS WILL SPREAD FROM THE COAST INTO THE NEW ORLEANS METROPOLITAN AREA BY DAYBREAK MONDAY AND THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN AND THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST BY MID MORNING MONDAY. MAXIMUM WIND GUSTS OF 150 TO 175 MPH ARE LIKELY ALONG THE PATH OF THE HURRICANE THIS MORNING.

AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.

...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED...

AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.

THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. MANY WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.

HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW POSSIBLY TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. MANY WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.

AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.

POWER OUTAGES MAY LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MANY POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED.

Even without mention of the levees, which the government knew were not designed to stand up to a category-4 storm, this warning would have prompted a better president to cut short his vacation, monitor the situation, and begin relief preparations.