Finally. President Bush is taking responsibility for the government's inefficient response to Hurricane Katrina and admitting there might be problems with prevention protocol. It's a wise thing for him to do. Really, he ought to take responsibility more often.

Here are a few other suggestions of things he should apologize for and people he should apologize to; before the momentum subsides:

• Iraq

• The environment, or what's left of it

• Education, kind of left that one behind

• The USA Patriot Act

• Not listening to intelligence prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks

• Making up intelligence

• Ruining relations between the United States and other countries

• Cindy Sheehan

• And, heck, while we're at it, stealing the 2000 election

The list goes on, but you get the point.

For days, the federal government has been battling local governments in the Gulf Coast over who's to blame for the deaths and destruction in New Orleans. Nearly two weeks after the turmoil and in the wake of Michael Brown's resignation as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, we have an official scapegoat.

For many victims in the Gulf Coast region, it might be too little too late. They're still homeless, without jobs and missing family members.

Despite his many faults, Bush actually did well to take the heat. Even more bold, he's alluded to the nation being ill-prepared for another terrorist attack or natural catastrophe.

This is what the U.S. president should be doing - admitting when there's a problem and taking action to fix it. It doesn't bode well for our government when the public knows a mistake has been made but officials do nothing.

Now was the perfect time for Bush to make his statement. For the most part, the storm is over and rebuilding is underway. If he had waited until he was relentlessly criticized and thoroughly blamed for not providing relief when it was most needed, his actions might have seemed blatantly desperate and ineffective.

The same might be said if he were to apologize for the Iraq war well after he announced the United States victorious.

But, wording is everything. Although he said he has taken responsibility, he really hasn't admitted to anything.

Whether he knows of flaws in our nation's disaster prevention and response policy is still unclear. In that perspective, his bravado doesn't give Americans any satisfaction.

Bush's martyrdom might steer the public's outrage away from Republicans and give hope to the party for the 2008 presidential election, but his action is merely scratching the surface. He has a long way to go before this all blows over.