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COOPER: Well, this storm has hit home for Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi. His home in Pascagoula has been destroyed. He joins us tonight.

Senator, thank you for being with us, and I'm sorry for your personal loss in all this, as well as the loss of so many in your state.

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: You know, I will say this, Anderson. When the people on the Mississippi Gulf Coast suffer, I suffer. And when they lose their homes, I lose mine, too. And I want to thank you for being there and giving, from what I understand, some really good reports about how just how devastating the situation is. Waveland, Mississippi, a neat little town, doesn't exist.

COOPER: It's a beautiful town. My cousins actually came up to me, they're from Meridian, and I got family in Alabama. It turns out they had a house here, too. I didn't know about, it's been destroyed.

You know, there's so much anger here, Senator, as I'm sure you know. I'm sure you've heard this from your constituents. People want answers and they feel like the federal government failed on this. Did the federal government fail? LOTT: Absolutely not. Now, when you've lost everything you have, and when you've lost a loved one, and you're exhausted, and you haven't had a bath in four days, and you're hungry, and you don't have water and ice, and you don't have generator to run, a fan, you know, it's tough.

And I know from having been through a lot of hurricanes and tornadoes and ice storms, always a couple days after a hurricane or whatever you feel like you've hit the wall. You're just completely exhausted and the aid that you need desperately is not quite there.

But it's on the way, and that's what I want to say to the people in Mississippi and Louisiana and even Alabama. A massive aid is coming. In my own home town of Pascagoula, which suffered a devastating blow too, we are now getting generators, ice, food, water in there. And a lot of volunteers...

COOPER: Why is it taking so long? Do you understand why it's taking so long?

(CROSSTALK)

LOTT: ... Monday. And, you know, you don't just -- National Guard units are citizen soldiers. They're not at the armory waiting to go. They've got to get there, they've got to get their equipment packed. They've got to come in. People don't realize...

COOPER: Let me ask you.

LOTT: Yes.

COOPER: I asked someone here that I told them I was going to be talking to you tonight. And they wanted to ask, was part of the problem that a lot of these National Guard troops are in Iraq or overseas? I mean, are the forces so depleted, is that an issue?

LOTT: Anderson, only the news media is asking that question.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Sir, I can guarantee you that is not true.

LOTT: I've been digging through rubble in my own yard...

COOPER: Sir, a man who lives right here on this corner was asking me that question.

LOTT: No, that is not accurate. We've got the National Guard troops that we need. They're coming in there. They're coming in 1,200 a day into Mississippi. We're going to have 6,000 to 7,000 in Mississippi alone, not just Mississippi National Guardsmen, but Alabama, all the way to Michigan are going to be there. We're all pulling together.

Look, I don't want to minimize the difficulty or the magnitude of this problem. It's a big one, we've to get everything in there that we can. But we've had problems like communications. When you get stuff there, distribution center, the people can't get there. You've got to get it out into the community. We have a problem with fuel. I've got people that want to go -- my own son hadn't been there because I told him if you in there, you can't get back because you won't have gas.

COOPER: Right, well I can tell you now -- there's a gas station down here that's charging about $5 for a gallon of fuel, and the line is two miles long. But it is not just the news media that is asking these questions. There's a man named Charles Kerney (ph) who lost his home. He came up to me today, heard an interview last night, and he said, "I want to know, I mean, why aren't there more National Guard? And it's not enough," he said.

And I'm telling you what he said, and wanted me to ask you. He said, "It's not enough to hear that they are coming in the future." He wants to know why they aren't here now. I mean, should troops have been pre-positioned?

LOTT: Anderson, when you're hurt, even when people are pre- positioned -- some folks don't seem to realize, you have to clear roads, first. You have to get in there. And that's what you do the first day. For the first day, you're trying to clear the roads, get everything assembled, you know, find people that are...

COOPER: So you're happy with the federal government response?

LOTT: Look, I'm one of them. And I...

COOPER: Well, I know. I understand that. But you're pleased with the federal government response?

LOTT: I am pleased with the federal government response. And by the way, while they're hurting, and I understand it, this is not a time for complaining. This is a time for specifying what help we need, and let's make sure we get it in there. I'm really shocked at some of the comments that are coming, you know, a day or two or three, a week from now.

Look, if they're not doing their job, I'll be the first guy to complain. I'm not a shrinking violet. But I've dealt with the magnitude of this problem. I understand the transportation, the communication, all that has to go on. And remember, the disaster that went over New Orleans and hit us is still going on. They're under water. They're three fires in New Orleans. I looked at it today.

At least our disaster was three days ago and I could go stand in my community and say, "Well, here's where we were." But they're still dealing with it right now. And they're scared, they're panicked. It is a devastating thing, don't let me minimize that.

COOPER: In retrospect, was it a mistake for the federal government in the last couple years to cut the budget for the army corps of engineers in southeastern Louisiana for hurricane protection? Was it a mistake to cut some of the federal funding for flood control in that region? LOTT: Yes, I do think that's been a mistake. People that don't live in flood areas of the country -- and lots of the country don't really fully understand good work the corps does and how badly we need it. Yes, I don't think it was a wise decision. I think we should put more into flood control problems.

But, you know, you've got papers like the "Washington Post" editorializing against what the corps does when they build levees and they build pumps. But yes, we ought to be putting more into it, and I vote that way every year.

COOPER: What do you have to say to the mayor of New Orleans, who said he wants a moratorium on press conferences. Do you think there should be a moratorium on press conferences? Again, I'm just passing along things from people, here. There's a lot of people who are sick of hearing politicians, you know, kind of talk, and as they have been some this week.

LOTT: Anderson, this is a difficult thing, and it's hard to put a, you know, a positive spin on it. But I don't feel, you know, all this complaining myself. And I'm part of if. Look, when a governor of a state has a press conference, he's speaking to the American people or she's speaking to the American people. Look, this is what's happening. This is where we are. We need help, you know, send things.

He also, or she is also, speaking to the people of that state. That's a very important part of the job. Now quite frankly, Anderson, I just as soon not have done any press the last couple days, and hadn't done much because I'm too busy to assess the problems and move things and build my own personal problems.

But when a guy like you comes down there and comes in among us, that helps us explain to the people in the country and the world the magnitude of the problem and the help we need. And I just want to say, thank you to you and other media people. They're doing a great job. They're down there sweating and crying with us. I want to thank the volunteers and everybody that's trying to help us. And all I got to everybody else, we need you. Send more help. Send bodies, send people.

You know, in my neighborhood we had some fellows from Florida and they came over with a bulldozer and a Bobcat and they said, "Where do we go to work?" And I said, "We need to get that road open." They went around there and pushed the debris out. We had a lady that couldn't get in or out of her house. They went and opened up a path. Nobody was paying them.

COOPER: We're seeing that -- we're seeing that on every block here in Waveland, as well. I'd love you to come down. The people down here would love you to come down here, Senator. I know you have suffered personally, I know you've got a lot going on. They would just love some of the answers, to hear them from you directly. I'm just passing that along. Senator Trent Lott, appreciate you joining us very much, taking time out. Thanks very much.