After the Texas floods, when is the right time to ask what went wrong?

The finger-pointing began as soon as the waters started to recede.

Within hours of last month’s floods in Kerr County, Texas, which killed more than 130 people, pundits were already battling over who — or what — was responsible. Over the next few weeks, people blamed insufficient warning systems , sleeping officials , and even nature itself. But Governor Greg Abbott had a different target in mind: the blamers themselves.

“Who’s to blame? Know this: That’s the word choice of losers,” Abbott said at a press conference, before launching into a drawn-out metaphor about how losing teams point fingers, while winners “talk about solutions.”

It was a familiar dodge (albeit with a sporty twist), but there was at least a kernel of truth to what Abbott was saying. The blame game that erupt