As everyone continues to point fingers of blame over the response to the disaster that was the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush finally stepped up to the microphone and admitted his administration’s responsibility in the matter.

It was a rare admission from a president who once told a room full of reporters he could think of no mistakes he had made.

But it’s also the first time since the storm hit that someone finally admitted some blame, and it is right for the man at the top of the totem pole to take that responsibility &045; even if it was people closer to the ground who had a much bigger hand in the problems.

”Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government,” Bush said Tuesday, a day after the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency quit.

But former FEMA head Mike Brown &045; and the favor system that apparently put him and other equally unqualified managers at the head of the agency &045; are not solely to blame for the Katrina debacle.

The local officials who could have and should have done more to evacuate New Orleans and the state officials who wavered in making firm decisions were to blame.

There was an absolute leadership vacuum, a situation quite the opposite of when Rudy Giuliani took over in the wake of attacks on New York on Sept. 11.

Many people suspect that the bureaucracy put in place after those attacks to protect the nation ultimately destroyed the country’s ability to protect it from a natural disaster.

If Katrina has taught us anything, it’s that the system failed &045; and it needs fixing fast. Admitting there’s a problem is the first step. Taking action should be next &045; as soon as possible.