Move on, but how?

To the editor: I feel I must respond to Mr. McPhillips letter, in particular his comment about the residents of New Orleans not leaving when they were told to. Please explain to me how the residents of New Orleans were supposed to evacuate when 500,000 residence did not have access to a vehicle. Should the sick and elderly have walked to Houston? Also, let's remember that a huge percentage of Louisiana residents live below the national poverty line. It is possible that that they could not afford the $50 to fill up their vehicle so they could evacuate. How many people died because of a slow response by the government? I think that it is terrible that it took the federal government and their agencies days to get the residents of New Orleans food, water and medication. Clearly there were mistakes made by all levels of governments; local, city, state and federal, but it wasn't Gov. Blanco who appointed Mike Brown as head of FEMA. Maybe if Bush were not on vacation, as he usually is, the response would have been accelerated. The ultimate responsibility falls on the President, as it should. Andrew Hayes Monroe