Topped or Breach; is this the new "what is, is" question?

I've heard a few T.V. talk shows today, and I guess the talking points memos have been faxed out. According to them, when the president was discussing the levees, prior to the storm hitting. According to the defenders of Bush -- when he stated, something to the effect, no one anticipated a breach in the levees -- the defenders made it a point to say that there is a difference in topped and breach. Topped meaning the water flowed over the levees, while breach means break. What's the difference?

It's the difference between whether they thought that water would only flow over them, but stop flowing as soon as the water level went down, and in which pumping could be started immediately, even while the water was flowing; or if the levees were going to actually break, letting in water until the water level outside the levee went WAY down, below the level of the breach, requiring a breach fix before they could start pumping water out.

That said, though, I'm sure they are lying, and that they were not making this distinction in their conversations, and that they were thinking "breach". They are lying, as they always do, trying to blame someone else, like they always do, for their own failure to respond/react.

That's the theme for this administration "The No Response Then Blame Someone Else Years"

Bush said he had no idea that the levees would breach, when "Brownie" specifically told him how big of a concern they are. Plus, Bush didn't even ask one single question!

so what's their point?

They could care less about what the difference is.

topped or breached you got water where water's not supposed to be in the first place, and in the second place, if the levees are topped they are almost certainly going to be breached as well. Before the water recedes you will find that the walls are undercut or cracked open.
Give Pres. Ratfuck no quarter. He deserves no pity.

I'm no engineer, but it seems to me that levee breaches almost always have to be preceeded by topping. The topping allows water to flow over the levee which causes erosion of the levee earth support. After there is enough erosion, the levee fails structurally (breaches).