N.Orleans mayor "shocked" by pre-Katrina Bush video

[cal04]

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said on Wednesday he was shocked by video showing U.S.
President George W. Bush being told the day before Hurricane Katrina hit that the city's protective levees could fail.
The tape contradicts the president's statement four days after the hurricane struck: "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees."

"It surprises me that if there was that kind of awareness, why was the response so slow?" said Nagin, whose city was devastated when the storm struck on August 29 and causing massive flooding. "I have kind of a sinking feeling right now in my gut. I mean, I was listening to what people were saying and I was believing them that they didn't know. So therefore it was an issue of a learning curve.

"From this tape it looks like everybody was fully aware." Nagin listened with headphones and watched an excerpt from the video for the first time as reporters stood around him. The tape shows Bush and Homeland SecuritySecretary Michael Chertoff being told on August 28 that the hurricane could trigger breaches of the levees that protect the city and threaten the Superdome, which became a chaotic shelter for storm victims.

The tapes were obtained by the Associated Press, which played Nagin the excerpt.
"I want to assure the folks at the state level that we are fully prepared to not only help you during the storm, but we will move in whatever resources and assets we have at our disposal after the storm to help you deal with the loss of property," Bush says in the video. "We pray there's no loss of life, of course."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060302/us_nm/hurricanes_video_dc_2

[Erika]

1. Again, under the navigable waters act, this was a fed problem

Levees under the navigable water act make the feds in charge. W didn't take charge.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Hopefully that doesn't surprise you

that el pretzeldente didn't take charge.

[spindrifter]

3. I will never understand

how someone who is C-in-C of this country (supposedly) could have just blithely gone about his business after a serious-business warning about a killer hurricane barrelling down on the Gulf Coast. If this was the manager of a hamburger joint and key people told him "hey, the sh*t's going to hit the fan in another day or so," he would lose his job if he DIDN'T EVEN TRY to do anything to avert disaster.

[opihimoimoi]

4. Whadda Ya Expect of the Mother of ALL BROWNIES????

Reason?

Logic??

Sanity?

Common Sense?

Vision?

Intellect?

Wisdom?

Leadership? Oh shit....BWAHAHaahahahahaha Thats a JOKE

Initiative??? Empathy?


The man is a cruel JOKE on all of us but mostly on the Pubs who backed him...now they gatta eat CROW