Michael "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job" Brown resigned from FEMA on Monday.

The team player and Republican hack threw himself on a grenade, saying he didn't want to distract from his agency's work.

I'm sure the facts that Dubya's approval numbers are averaging about 42 per cent right now ... and that anger with his administration's response to hurricane Katrina is part of the reason for that ... and that Brown had become a lightning rod of criticism from both Republicans and Democrats alike ... played no role in any of this.

Here's the NYT's take.

Oddly enough, Brown's acting replacement, R. David Paulison, has experience in fighting disasters, not worsening them.

And to continue kicking a mediocre man when he's down, here's Maureen Dowd's take on the whole sad affair.