Mayor to feds: 'Get off your asses'

CNN.com ^

[Millee]

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin blasted the slow pace of federal and state relief efforts in an expletive-laced interview with local radio station WWL-AM.

The following is a transcript of WWL correspondent Garland Robinette's interview with Nagin on Thursday night. Robinette asked the mayor about his conversation with President Bush:

NAGIN: I told him we had an incredible crisis here and that his flying over in Air Force One does not do it justice. And that I have been all around this city, and I am very frustrated because we are not able to marshal resources and we're outmanned in just about every respect. (Listen to the mayor express his frustration in this video -- 12:09)

You know the reason why the looters got out of control? Because we had most of our resources saving people, thousands of people that were stuck in attics, man, old ladies. ... You pull off the doggone ventilator vent and you look down there and they're standing in there in water up to their freaking necks.

And they don't have a clue what's going on down here. They flew down here one time two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters, all kind of goddamn -- excuse my French everybody in America, but I am pissed.

[cripplecreek]

Yo Mr. Mayor, why didn't YOU use buses and trains to get the people out of YOUR city. Why did YOUR cops choose to join the looters. Why didn't YOU raise a stink over YOUR cities levees that YOU knew were inadequate.

[Wiseghy]

I watched this moron's rant. Obviously, he's reacting like someone who feels overwelmed and totally helpless. Watta difference to NYC's leadership.

Thanks Mayor, for the new tagline...

[Travis McGee]

Yeah, why didn't Bush come here last week, and drive the po' folks out in these New Orleans city school buses?

Instead, Bush just let them get flooded, cuz he hates po' black folks!

(Over 200 ruined buses in this one photo could have hauled out 10,000 evacuees per trip. Mayor Gumbo needs to answer for his gross incompetence.)

[soycd]

fed taxpayers to mayor: you first.

[RightOnline]

Yeah, well, Mr. Mayor........you and your cronies should have gotten off of YOUR dead asses one hell of a long time ago; you might actually be prepared for something akin to this.

But...........be a good little Dem and blame Bush. That's all your kind are good for, anyway.

[misharu]

They ought to give that guy -- if they don't want to give it to me, give him full authority to get the job done, and we can save some people.

Excuse me, but didn't he have the authority all along? Take some personal responsibility Mr. Mayor.

[dts32041]

Send in Rudy, so this idiot how to lead and get out of the way.

[frogjerk]

I HAVE A NAGIN' FEELING THIS MAYOR WILL BE OUT OF A JOB SHORTLY!

[lp boonie]

This is a classic lack of leadership. Classic. Looking for someone else to to do the heavy lifting. "I didn't do my job and now I'm pissed you didn't do my job." This is pathetic.

[Calpernia]

Didn't he counter the evacuation order by telling people just to go to the second floor?

Or was that a rumor?

[Williams]

What a low life scumbag. Every story coming from this mayor and his police department makes no sense, and never involves them actually doing anything effectively. But he'll get away with it because Bush and the rest of the GOP are afraid to tell him to go to hell - publicly.

This is what you get in these cities every day. Incompetent, corript machine politics "leadership." The mayor is doing what he and his cronies do every day without a flood - Sit by while their loyal supporters die, and blame the federal government for it to protect their backsides. Funny but in all the news coverage I have NOT seen the mayor doing things "all over the city."

The mayor is getting his orders from teh DNC at this point and they will make it as vicuious and couterproductive as they can get away with.

[G.Mason]

You!

You better not be doing that to my blood pressure. ;)

[Fawn]

LOL!

[NHResident]

Stupid is, as Stupid does. - Forrest Gump

[Hoodlum91]

Don't know. He's an incompetent boob either way!

[Texas2step]

Let's not be too hard on the mayor. The Governor is the one who controls the Guard. The Governor is the one who controls the rest of the state's resources. This man's resources were wiped out.

Should he shoulder some of the blame for lack of preparedness? Absolutely. But I don't blame him for being "pissed". I'd be pissed, too. Actually, I am pissed. There's no way we should have had this level of incompentence for this length of time.

To compare him to Rudy, or to compare this to 9/11, is completely unfair. Rudy still had the rest of his city's resources. Rudy didn't have snipers shooting at survivors and emergency personnel.

This catastrophe is much, much greater than what we saw on 9/11. It's going to cost more. There's going to be more loss of life (I believe). This is truly a catastrophe of "Biblical proportions". Give the mayor a little bit of a break.

[frogjerk]

Now, I will tell you this -- and I give the president some credit on this -- he sent one John Wayne dude down here that can get some stuff done, and his name is [Lt.] Gen. [Russel] Honore.

And he came off the doggone chopper, and he started cussing and people started moving. And he's getting some stuff done.

But...but...the MSM has been reporting that BUSH didn't do anything...how can this be true?????

[NHResident]

Stupid is, as Stupid does. - Forrest Gump

[evets]

Is that a haiku?

N.O. mayor Ray Nagin. Clown of the town

[CCCnative]

In a crisis leadership really shows. The mayor can yell and scream to his heart's content. He is just trying to cover up his own responsibility for much than happened by finger pointing. This guy just missed an opportunity to show competance. I am not saying that I could do better, but Rudy G. probably could have.