  The interpretation of the charged (CCQE) and neutral (NCE) current quasi
elastic events collected by the MiniBooNE collaboration involves a number of
unresolved issues. While it has been suggested that the data can be explained
in terms of an effective nucleon axial mass, $M_A$, the results of our
theoretical calculations suggest that the CCQE and NCE samples cannot be
described by the same value of $M_A$. We argue that the disagreement between
theory and data may arise from the uncertainties associated with the flux
average procedure. We also analyze the role of the strange quark in NCE
interactions and find that, due to a cancellation between proton and neutron
contributions, it turns out to be negligible.
