USS Bataan: the dog that didn’t bark?

"Asked why Northcom hadn't reponded to Hurricane Katrina more quickly, [Lt. Commander Sean Kelly, a Pentagon spokesman for Northern Command] accidentally told the truth:

Northcom started planning before the storm even hit....We had the USS Bataan sailing almost behind the hurricane so once the hurricane made landfall, its search and rescue helicopters could be available almost immediately So, we had things ready.

The only caveat is: we have to wait until the president authorizes us to do so. The laws of the United States say that the military can't just act in this fashion; we have to wait for the president to give us permission.

So why didn't the president issue the orders?
Quando blog

There is more, they have a few updates that say that they did have orders and that they did start helping. Your guess is as good as mine