Abandoned by Uncle Sam?

In a Washington Post op-ed today, Baton Rouge-based writer Jennifer Moses gets in this dig:

Jim Towey, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, came to Baton Rouge to praise the efforts of local churches. (Well he should, too, since the federal government has all but abandoned us to our own resources.)

Look, nobody's saying the federal response was exemplary. But "all but abandoned us"? That's just absurd rhetoric. Here are a few facts about just the first three weeks of the federal response to Katrina, courtesy of the Homeland Security Department:

• More than 72,000 unified federal personnel were deployed.
• More than 49,800 lives were saved and rescued.
• 1,189,000 households received more than $3.51 billion in disaster assistance.
• Approximately 54,800 housing damage inspections were completed.
• More than 73 percent of affected drinking water systems in Louisiana and 78 percent in Mississippi were restored.
• 93 Disaster Recovery Centers were opened across the Gulf Coast.