"Can't Somebody Else Do It?" 
Posted on 09/11/2005 2:54:36 AM PDT by InvisibleChurch
Sunday, Sept. 11, 2005 12:39 a.m. EDT Ray Nagin: Flooded School Buses Not My Fault
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said Friday that it wasn't his fault city school buses weren't mobilized to facilitate the Hurricane Katrina evacuation he ordered.
Appearing on NBC's "Dateline," Nagin was asked by host Stone Phillips: "What was mobilized? I mean were national guard troops in position. Were helicopters standing by? Were buses ready to take people away?"
"No. None of that," the Big Easy mayor replied. "Why is that?" an incredulous Phillips asked.
Nagin replied: "I dont know. That is question for somebody else."
The Louisiana Democrat didn't explain just who the "somebody else" was, saying only:
"All I can do is [say] that I was dealing with it as a mayor -- how do I prepare my city for an incredibly powerful storm? So immediately we tried to get as many people out as possible."
The "Dateline" exchange was only the second time Mayor Nagin had been asked about the failure to use his city's school buses, hundreds of which sat 1.2 miles from the Superdome.
Two days after the levees broke, Nagin told a New Orleans radio station that he wanted Greyhound Bus Lines to send their entire fleet rather than launch an evacuation in public school buses.
"One of the briefings we had they were talking about getting, you know, public school bus drivers to come down here and bus people out of here," Nagin said.
"I'm like - you've got to be kidding me. This is a natural disaster. Get every doggone Greyhound bus line in the country and get their asses moving to New Orleans."
The yellow submarines of Nagin's Navy.
Tens of thousands is a gross underestimate. At 50 passengers per bus, 2000 school busses could carry 100,000 people in one trip. Two or three round trips & everyone is out of NO. Oh, by the way, I am certain there were more than 2000 qualified drivers to be found in Baton Rouge, who could have taken over from anyone who felt uneasy driving a bus.
Wasn't there a story about a young man who "stole" a schoolbus and got to the Astrodome ahead of the main evacuation? Driving a school bus is not that all hard -- anyone who can drive a car can give it a whirl. Oh, there might be a fender bender or two, but since the busses were going to be lost to the storm anyway, a little bit of damage is acceptable.
Typical demrat. Its never their fault or responsiblity. Nagan's full of crap.
The buses sit waterlogged instead of having been used to ferry people from the city because no one knew who's budget would be billed for driver time or fuel costs, or there weren't any licensed bus drivers available, or someone was worried about insurance liability or security for the drivers or some other simple consideration that wasn't detailed finely enough in the evacuation plan.
I want that toast!!!! does it come with jam or jelly ?
Whatta maroon!
ONLY President Bush is to blame. /sarcasm
Does this guy have any idea how big the country is? Does he think a natural disaster will just suspend the time constraints of moving buses from around the country? Does he realize that the storm hit other places besides NO? Does he know that storms blow things like trees across roads? Does he expect 500 buses to be airlifted in?
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said Friday that it wasn't his fault city school buses weren't mobilized to facilitate the Hurricane Katrina evacuation he ordered.
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Typical POS liberal. It is always SOMEONE ELSE'S RESPONSIBILITY...didn't we learn that with Clinton? Never, ever accept responsiblity for ANYTHING.
They manage to find volunteer drivers on election day. Why didn't they use them?
"Maybe New Orleans has a shadow government. </sarcasm>"
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I think you may be more right than you realize.
Nagin's response is atypical of criminals. Even though available evidence shows undoubtable guilt, plead innocent. Never admit guilt.
He is hoping for the O.J. treatment; That an all-black jury will never convict another black once the race card is introduced.
"Can't Somebody Else Do It?"
I was not blaming the feds. I fully blame the governor BECAUSE she refused to use the state and federal assets that were made available to be used BEFORE the storm made landfall. This fiasco is primarily on Kathleen Blanko's shoulders because she refused to act period. I do NOT blame the feds at all.
Nagin must have missed every episode of MacGyver.
* Any problem can be solved with a little ingenuity.
* One person can make a difference.
* A little research beforehand can go a long way.
* There's nothing you can't do if you have a Swiss Army Knife, a roll of duct tape, your wits and a 400 buses before a Cat.5 hurricane destroys your city.
Although he made the stupid remark about the CIA, I think he knows exactly who that question is for and she's only a little further up the chain than he is. Apparently they haven't gotten along before, which was part of the problem.
Blanco made a huge mistake regarding her rejection of Bush putting the Federal government into the driver's seat. If she had, then everything could've been blamed on him and not one scintilla on her. Her decision left the ball in her court for all who aren't too blind to see.
Exactly. That's what I've been wondering since I first heard the "Greyhound" quote.
Now that's honky thinking. Here he is trying to smooth out black's and white's pet dogs into grey-hounds and you criticise him. And if the whiey schools had worked he would have been able to spell "bus" correctly. As it was he misspelled his email into -- "Mr. Bush we need 500 learjets right now for me and my harem." And don't think small, that's Governor Blanco's job.
I spose a few years hence there will be some other idiot stupid enough to want to be mayor of Nwalins. I wouldn't take the job a a million a year.
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