Tim Russert asking tough questions???

[LSK]

The world really is turned upside down.

Hes reading newpaper articles from 2002 predicting the storm.

Hes reading from the Homeland Security website saying they are responsible to evacuate people.

Hes asking Chertoff if hes going to resign.

Wow.

[cynatnite]

1. He mentioned a CD outlining all of what could happen

Chertoff just kept deflecting and not really answering.

Russert did good.

[gennifer6]

3. I don't think he did

He asked some tough questions but nothing that hasn't already been asked, they had time to prepare good answers. And he didn't follow up like he should have and really combat them. And he cut off the guy from Jefferson Parish; that's the one guy he should have let keep talking.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Russert has always been a tough critic of the WH

Remember how critical he was of Clinton??

[gratuitous]

5. He's just been on critical hiatus for five years

When I first saw the heading for this thread, I thought "Timmy being tough? Gee, I wonder if he has Howard Dean or Mary Landrieu on?"

[orpupilofnature57]

6. He's sucked Shrubs ass!

[orpupilofnature57]

4. MSM, is running for cover, Evil elf is at the top of the culpability list!

These people have spent more time on Monica's dress, than election fraud!

[malaise]

7. I just bawled

after listening to Aaron Broussard. He burst into tears while talking about the guy in charge of the building's mother and my tears just could not stop flowing. What a tragedy. Fuck Bush!

MR. RUSSERT: And we are back.

Jefferson Parish President Broussard, let me start with you. You just heard the director of Homeland Security's explanation of what has happened this last week. What is your reaction?

MR. AARON BROUSSARD: We have been abandoned by our own country. Hurricane Katrina will go down in history as one of the worst storms ever to hit an American coast, but the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will go down as one of the worst abandonments of Americans on American soil ever in U.S. history. I am personally asking our bipartisan congressional delegation here in Louisiana to immediately begin congressional hearings to find out just what happened here. Why did it happen? Who needs to be fired? And believe me, they need to be fired right away, because we still have weeks to go in this tragedy. We have months to go. We have years to go. And whoever is at the top of this totem pole, that totem pole needs to be chain-sawed off and we've got to start with some new leadership.

It's not just Katrina that caused all these deaths in New Orleans here. Bureaucracy has committed murder here in the greater New Orleans area, and bureaucracy has to stand trial before Congress now. It's so obvious. FEMA needs more congressional funding. It needs more presidential support. It needs to be a Cabinet-level director. It needs to be an independent agency that will be able to fulfill its mission to work in partnership with state and local governments around America. FEMA needs to be empowered to do the things it was created to do. It needs to come somewhere, like New Orleans, with all of its force immediately, without red tape, without bureaucracy, act immediately with common sense and leadership, and save lives. Forget about the property. We can rebuild the property. It's got to be able to come in and save lives.

We need strong leadership at the top of America right now in order to accomplish this and to-- reconstructing FEMA.

MR. RUSSERT: Mr. Broussard, let me ask--I want to ask--should...

MR. BROUSSARD: You know, just some quick examples...

MR. RUSSERT: Hold on. Hold on, sir. Shouldn't the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of New Orleans bear some responsibility? Couldn't they have been much more forceful, much more effective and much more organized in evacuating the area?

MR. BROUSSARD: Sir, they were told like me, every single day, "The cavalry's coming," on a federal level, "The cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming." I have just begun to hear the hoofs of the cavalry. The cavalry's still not here yet, but I've begun to hear the hoofs, and we're almost a week out.

Let me give you just three quick examples. We had Wal-Mart deliver three trucks of water, trailer trucks of water. FEMA turned them back. They said we didn't need them. This was a week ago. FEMA--we had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on a Coast Guard vessel docked in my parish. The Coast Guard said, "Come get the fuel right away." When we got there with our trucks, they got a word. "FEMA says don't give you the fuel." Yesterday--yesterday--FEMA comes in and cuts all of our emergency communication lines. They cut them without notice. Our sheriff, Harry Lee, goes back in, he reconnects the line. He posts armed guards on our line and says, "No one is getting near these lines." Sheriff Harry Lee said that if America--American government would have responded like Wal-Mart has responded, we wouldn't be in this crisis.

But I want to thank Governor Blanco for all she's done and all her leadership. She sent in the National Guard. I just repaired a breach on my side of the 17th Street canal that the secretary didn't foresee, a 300-foot breach. I just completed it yesterday with convoys of National Guard and local parish workers and levee board people. It took us two and a half days working 24/7. I just closed it.

MR. RUSSERT: All right.

MR. BROUSSARD: I'm telling you most importantly I want to thank my public employees...

MR. RUSSERT: All right.

MR. BROUSSARD: ...that have worked 24/7. They're burned out, the doctors, the nurses. And I want to give you one last story and I'll shut up and let you tell me whatever you want to tell me. The guy who runs this building I'm in, emergency management, he's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, "Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?" And he said, "Yeah, Mama, somebody's coming to get you. Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday." And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night.

MR. RUSSERT: Mr. President...

MR. BROUSSARD: Nobody's coming to get us. Nobody's coming to get us. The secretary has promised. Everybody's promised. They've had press conferences. I'm sick of the press conferences. For God sakes, shut up and send us somebody.

MR. RUSSERT: Just take a pause, Mr. President. While you gather yourself in your very emotional times, I understand, let me go to Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9179790/

[babylonsister]

9. That was truly heart wrenching! nt

[LSK]

10. wow, i just saw that

That sentiment, that emotion is shared by THOUSANDS of people. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE. They were lied to and abandoned by the federal government and when you loose love ones like that YOU NEVER FORGET.

[undeterred]

11. that was heart wrenching

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

And I want to give you one last story and I'll shut up and let you tell me whatever you want to tell me.

The guy who runs this building I'm in, emergency management, he's responsible for everything.

His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, "Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?" And he said, "Yeah, Mama, somebody's coming to get you.

Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday.

Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday.

Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday.

Somebody's coming to get you on Friday."

And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night.

[Gabi Hayes]

20. and how many times did fatso try to interrupt him? and could he

have gotten away from Broussard ANY faster the nanosecond he finished?

totally without sympathy/empathy

couldn't WAIT to let Barbour start kissing Bushass

[Tatiana]

12. Jesus.

Heartbreaking :(

[malaise]

15. Here's a link with the video

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4626138

[DemFromMem]

14. It was hard to not respond to him

I think you would have to have a heart of stone not to have cried after hearing his story.

Say what you want about Russert, but today's show was incredibly compelling. I thought he asked very tough questions of Chertoff and followed up when he was getting the run around.

I also appreciated him having experts on the Bush Administration's neglect of the environment and how we're going to have many New Orleansesque disasters in our coastal cities unless we started making some immediate changes. He was very specific in explaining the science and I appreciate Russert giving him the time to explain.

Actually, at a few points in the program I was expecting Russert to cut people off (not out of not liking what they say, but because the media likes sound byte responses). But he was good about letting people have their say.

[malaise]

18. The fallout is big time

Bush willpay for this. Even his defenders are jumping ship on this one.
They have no excuses for what happened here. Last week this time we were posting about what was about to happen. Where was the Federal government? As they're saying on NBC, when he heard that Katrina was approaching at 165mph, he should have been on his way back to Washignton. The same is true for Congress. These men should be put on trial for criminal negligence - homicide.

[Mike_The_Computer]

8. Russert senses it's "safe" to be critical, so he's being critical.

He's lame.

[wurzel]

13. It was the 911-Iraq War defense.

Let's not talk about how we got you into this mess. Just trust us to get you out!

[derby378]

16. Tim sounds really, really pissed

It's about friggin' time.

[peekaloo]

17. Tiny Tim stepped up earlier this week on the Today Show.

Ripped the Feds on their non-response and the media on their neglect for making this country aware of the poverty/despair that exists in our country.

[KharmaTrain]

19. Ratings And Research

TV Newser's daily ratings showed Faux's numbers decreased during the week and overall-viewership went up. CNN was the big winner and this especially was the case after Wednesday.

Certainly the news gurus were seeing the frustration out there and let the hounds loose. They've also been polling and checking the emails and seeing how angry and frustrated people are. Nothing gets those big ratings than pounding on a common villian, and Timmy had a real good one in Chertoff.

Honestly, this wasn't a partisan trashing...this was Timmy letting out the same frustration Brian Williams and others have been feeling as they know these weasels are lying and covering their asses.

[spanone]

21. Chertoff has his head up his ass. The Incompetents are in charge.

Those who stayed away from the disaster for 4 days are now in charge and spinning like a top.