School-buses showdown: Mayor Nagin vs. Russert

WorldNetDaily ^ | 9/12/2005 | Unsh8kableFaith

[Unsh8kableFaith]

The mayor, questioned by NBC's Tim Russert on "Meet the Press," claimed he could not find drivers for the metro and school buses, which were left to flood in the post-hurricane deluge.

"Sure, here was lots of buses out there," Nagin said. "But guess what? You can't find drivers that would stay behind with a Category 5 hurricane, you know, pending down on New Orleans. We barely got enough drivers to move people on Sunday, or Saturday and Sunday, to move them to the Superdome. We barely had enough drivers for that. So sure, we had the assets, but the drivers just weren't available."

Russert did not let up on the question, continuing into this exchange:

RUSSERT: But, Mr. Mayor, if you read the city of New Orleans' comprehensive emergency plan-- and I've read it and I'll show it to you and our viewers--it says very clearly, "Conduct of an actual evacuation will be the responsibility of the mayor of New Orleans. The city of New Orleans will utilize all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas. Special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves or who require specific life-saving assistance. Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedure as needed. Approximately 100,000 citizens of New Orleans do not have means of personal transportation."

It was your responsibility. Where was the planning? Where was the preparation? Where was the execution?

[LibWrangler]

Has anyone actually figured out where the mayor was that week? Every report had him in Baton Rouge, then it was reported he was holed up in a hotel, and out commandeering buses to help tourists evacuate. First he didn't know anything, later he said he was out touring the city every day. In this interview with Russert, Nagin said he was inside the Dome. They had communications, they didn't have communications.

Just where was he, exactly?

[Unsh8kableFaith]

I agree. I don't think I've ever heard of Russert smacking around (in a verbal sense, of course) a fellow liberal like that.

Who was it that said, "Evil will eventually consume itself."

Where's the popcorn? :-)

-U.

[Seruzawa]

Aww, this is the usual misanthropic liberal garg that really pins the ol' BS meter. In every disaster there are always people who rise to the task and risk their lives to help others. And for free too. The problem would be that the govt union rules wouldn't allow volunteers to drive buses who didn't have proper licenses. Leave it to a bureaucrat to leave people to drown over paperwork.

[ladyjane]

If he had started the evacuations when the National Hurricane Center had first warned them to do so, he would have had plenty of drivers

He flew his own family out on Friday.

[Red Badger]

Those who fail to plan, plan to fail...........

[tonyinv]

"...my fundamental assumption was get as many people to safety as possible, and that the cavalry would be coming within two to three days, and they didn't come."

CoastGuard helicopters were saving lives on Monday night!! And FEMA delivered busses on Wednesday afternoon.

Whata maroon!!

[Bigh4u2]

Two(2) days BEFORE the hurricane struck, President Bush declared a 'State of Emergency' for N.O. and urged the Governor of Louisiana and the Mayor or N.O. to evacuate!

They decided to 'wait and see'!

Well, they got what the 'waited' for!

[stevio]

At least some sort or Nobel peace prize or sumptin'

[Bigh4u2]

the = they

[Hildy]

No, but I'll double your $100 that they give one to Blanco.

[LibWrangler]

Very interesting.

[SampleMan]

You're not up to speed on the new 500 kt aircraft carriers? I'm sure its on the DNC website.

[cardinal4]

RUSSERT: But, Mr. Mayor, if you read the city of New Orleans' comprehensive emergency plan-- and I've read it and I'll show it to you and our viewers--it says very clearly, "Conduct of an actual evacuation will be the responsibility of the mayor of New Orleans.

Quite a contrast from his meltdown last week..

[Conspiracy Guy]

I fear for the future when Russert acts this way.

[dinasour]

At least Nagin's response was rational, unlike Mary BobbleHead-Landrieu who said that the school buses weren't used because "George Bush doesn't support public transportation"

The people who drive school buses are not volunteer fire fighters.

Many are working moms who find that it provides a perfect schedule for taking care of the little ones, and they don't get paid very much.

Nagin would never had gotten them to come out in any numbers.

OTOH, manning these buses would have be a perfect job for the State Police or National Guard before the storm.

[z3n]

The level of selective opportune Boolshyt by the politicians AND media is getting outrageous. We have many examples of it daily, but this is a perfect example of it:

Media: "We expect the president to ignor the U.S. constitution and overstep local and state government powers and move in to help people because it's a natural disaster, but we don't expect the mayor of a city that is about to get hit by that natural disaster to actually accept volunteers without passenger class driver's permits to operate school buses. People's lives aren't THAT important."

[dennisw]

Nagin's navy of yellow submarines should have been moved to high ground outside of New Orleans and kept on standby to evacuate. They were useless once the busses were flooded

[dead]

the drivers just weren't available

Give me the keys and fifteen seconds to practice, and I'll be a bus driver.

[DTogo]

Russert gave Nagin a good grilling, and Nagin had every excuse in the book ready.

[geezerwheezer]

I guess this is what we have to learn to understand....that whenever anyone, or any elected official, really screws the pooch, it is the fault of the President, and the racial hatred of his that causes pain and suffering. If the Mayor and Governor of Louisiana are not held liable for all the damage and deaths there, then we are really hurting as a civilization. They had the methods and the means to do something, yet abdicated their responsibility. Put them on trial and prosecute to the full extent of the laws they broke, then tell me why it is the President's fault!!