The rumor around town is that the Republican Governors of the Gulf States have been told not to request a Presidential Disaster Declaration under the Stafford Act to deal with the oil spill.  Now a series of news articles suggest that some Governors are not using the resources they have to cope with the consequences of the spill. See: CBS News, June 28, Gulf Coast Governors Leaving National Guard Idle.

All along the Gulf coast, local officials have been demanding more help from the federal government to fight the spill, yet the Gulf states have deployed just a fraction of the National Guard troops the Pentagon has made available,

Are political considerations getting in the way of helping seriously impacted citizens?  What are your views on this?