Left holding the detonator

With all the sadness and confusion surrounding the Virginia Tech shootings, I can't help but wonder why there's such a focus on the administration's handling of the situation. I understand that lives could have been saved. But that's always the case with hindsight. We could always go back and do something different to create a better outcome, if only we'd known.

It reminds me of the circuit board debacle in Boston, when folks rained down criticism on the BPD for "overreacting." Overreacting or under reacting - take your pick. I'm with the BPD - knowing our current climate, err on the side of wasting tax payer money.

There are actual examples of mishandling crisis situations. For instance, New Orleans. But there are also situations where the only thing that could have led to a better resolution would have been a fast forward/rewind button.

Not every single incident shooting leads to a mass casualty. Can we really know when it will before it does? Is the problem the response, or the fact that something so f*cked up happened to begin with?