MR. RUSSERT: But that's the point. Those who got out were people with SUVs and automobiles and air fares who could get out. Those who could not get out were the poor who rely on public buses to get out. Your Web site says that your department assumes primary responsibility for a national disaster. If you knew a hurricane 3 storm was coming, why weren't buses, trains, planes, cruise ships, trucks provided on Friday, Saturday, Sunday to evacuate people before the storm?
SEC'Y CHERTOFF: Tim, the way that emergency operations act under the law is the responsibility and the power, the authority, to order an evacuation rests with state and local officials. The federal government comes in and supports those officials. That's why Mike Brown got on TV on Saturday and he told people to start to get out of there.
Now, ultimately the resources that will get people who don't have cars and don't have the ability to remove themselves has to rest with the kinds of assets a city has--the city's buses, the city's transportation. You know, there will be plenty of time to go back over what the preparation has been with respect to infrastructure in New Orleans, with respect to transportation, with respect to evacuation. To confront a situation that, as you point out, people have been aware of for decades--this is not something that just came on the horizon recently.
Chertoff has a tin ear politically and he resorts to legalisms to explain the inexplicable. The American people don't care about bureaucratic turf battles. They want results. Ultimately, the federal government is responsible.
Blame first goes to Mayor nagin, then to Gov. Blanco and Lt. Governor Landrieu, then to Chertoff and Mike Brown......ALL of these people are in the WRONG jobs!!!
"Chertoff has a tin ear politically and he resorts to legalisms to explain the inexplicable"
Plus they have and are stopping the Red Cross from coming into NO!!
What is that about - do they have something against Republicans running in 2008?