Former FEMA Director: Can I Quit Now?

What was on Federal Emergency Management chief Michael Brown's mind as Hurricane Katrina raged?

In a Friday, August 26 email to his press secretary Sharon Worthy, Brown writes: "Tie or not tonight? Button down blue shirt?"

On Monday, August 29, Cindy Taylor, FEMA's deputy director of public affairs, emails Brown: "My eyes must certainly be deceiving me. You look fabulous -- and I'm not talking the makeup!"

To which Brown replies: "I got it at Nordstroms. Email McBride and make sure he knows! Are you proud of me? Can I quit now? Can I go home?"

On Sunday, September 4, Sharon Worthy gives Brown crucial advice: "Please roll up the sleeves on your shirt...all shirts. Even the President rolled his shirt to just below the elbow. In this crises and on TV you just need to look more hard-working...ROLL UP THE SLEEVES!"

Remember, you are paying their salaries. Brown is still on the federal payroll; he makes $148,000 a year.


Think Progress caught this exchange between Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien of CNN:

"Humor is a stress relief, so we understand"

"Who knows if he's being sarcastic?"

"There was a point when nobody knew how bad it [Katrina] was"

"How many times have you misinterpreted an email?"

Leave it to cable TV anchors to make sense of it all.