A few days after Hurricane Katrina, President Bush stated that no one had anticipated a breach of New Orleans's levees.

A few days after Hurricane Katrina, President Bush stated that no one had anticipated a breach of New Orleans's levees. The AP recently reported, however, that a videotape documented that Bush was warned about the failure of the levees on the day before the storm struck. Gotcha, declared Howard Dean, Harry Reid, and a host of the president's delighted tormentors. A few days later, the AP issued a "clarification" explaining that what the president's defenders had been saying was tree: The tape clearly recounted the "grave concern" that the levees could be "topped" by flood waters--a less catastrophic event than a breach. The AP released the clarification late on a Friday night, like a politician spinning his way through a scandal. The incident was a perfect example of over-reaching by Bush's opponents. Bush can fairly be criticized for the inadequacy of the federal response to Katrina. But once again, the critics want to say, sans evidence, that Bush lied and people died.