The media continues search for ways to pin the blame for Hurricane Katrina's devastation on President Bush, with television anchors now getting into the act.

 

Appearing Thursday on CNN's "American Morning," Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour was aggressively grilled over whether the "federal government" [i.e., the Bush administration] "dropped the ball" on disaster preparation efforts.

 

"We knew it was a strong storm developing for several days before it ever made landfall," AM host Miles O'Brien told Barbour, before asking, "Do you have the sense that the federal government has dropped the ball here, sir?"

 

Barbour rebuffed O'Brien's attempt to get him to play the blame game, insisting that he had his facts wrong.

 

"I think it's very unfair for the federal government, for you to say we knew this was a great powerful storm," Barbour said. "This was a category 1 hurricane when it hit Florida. Now that's the truth."

 

Instead of agreeing to disagree, O'Brien insisted it was Barbour who had his facts wrong.

 

"Governor, it was a category 5 storm," he declared. "No, no, Governor Barbour ... surely there was enough knowledge in advance that this was a huge killer storm a matter of days, not hours, before it ever struck landfall. And it seems to me the military" could have done more."

 

Still, the Mississippi Republican refused to be steamrolled, challenging the CNN host: "Now, Miles, if this is an interview or an argument, I don't care. But if you want to let me tell you what I think, I will."

 

With that, O'Brien relented and let Barbour have his say.

 

"I'm not going to agree [that the federal government dropped the ball] because I don't believe it's true," he told CNN. "The federal government came in here from the first minute - in fact, in advance. They have been tremendously helpful."

 

Here's the full exchange between O'Brien and Barbour:

 

O'Brien: The governor of Mississippi is Haley Barbour. He joins us now live. Governor Barbour, good to have you with us. Bring us up to date on the numbers. First of all, those numbers I just gave, are they accurate to the moment?

 

Barbour: Well, they're credible, Miles. They're certainly not official, but it's because the government has a policy of not counting fatalities until they've been certified by the coroner. But those numbers are credible, and we worry that they may go up some.

 

O'Brien: And when you say, "They may go up some," you've obviously been down there. I've been down there. I've seen the extent of the wreckage. I get the sense that they may go up quite a bit. What are you hearing about people who have missing loved ones or friends?

 

Barbour: Well, you have been down there, and between the coast and the railroad for an area of probably about 50 miles, there's total devastation. I mean, there's virtually nothing standing. Homes that are just totally obliterated. And going through that debris, some of which is waist deep or as tall as a man, going through that takes time. We've rescued a lot of people, and we've found a lot of people. But under all of that debris, it's realistic to believe there's going to be more people.

 

O'Brien: Let's talk about the response and what was put into position in advance of this storm. We knew about Katrina. We knew it was a strong storm developing for several days before it ever made landfall. Do you have the sense - because it's quite clear that state and local officials cannot handle this on their own. This is too overwhelming. Do you have the sense that the federal government has dropped the ball here, sir?

 

Barbour: I really don't. And I think it's very unfair for the federal government, for you to say we knew this was a great powerful storm. This was a category 1 hurricane when it hit Florida. Now that's the truth.

 

O'Brien: Governor, it was a category 5 storm.

 

Barbour: The federal government ...

 

O'Brien: A category 5 storm when it was ...

 

Barbour: No, it was a category 1 - it was a category 1 storm when it hit Florida. It was a category 5 storm a few hours before it came ashore.

 

O'Brien: No, no, Governor Barbour...

 

Barbour: The federal government has been a tremendous partner in this. They have helped ...

 

O'Brien: Governor Barbour, surely there was enough knowledge in advance that this was a huge killer storm a matter of days, not hours, before it ever struck landfall. And it seems to me the military ...

 

Barbour: Now, Miles, if this is an interview or an argument, I don't care. But if you want to let me tell you what I think, I will.

 

O'Brien: OK, go ahead.

 

Barbour: And what I think is this storm strengthened in the Gulf. We begged the people to leave, and thousands of people left. Thousands of people left New Orleans. The federal government came in here from the first minute - in fact, in advance. They have been tremendously helpful, whether it's the Coast Guard, the Corps of Engineers, FEMA.

 

O'Brien: But ...

 

Barbour: I don't think it's at all fair ...

 

O'Brien: But ...

 

Barbour: ... and I'm not going to agree to that, because I don't believe it's true.

 

O'Brien: But conspicuously absent from that short list you just gave us was the military, the Pentagon. This is a type of situation that cries out for the kind of support, the kind of logistics, the kind of coordination the military is ideally suited for. Why weren't more military assets prepositioned and ready for the possibility here?

 

Barbour: We prepositioned more than 1,000 National Guard, 175 on the coastal counties, 1,000 more 60 miles inland, so that they wouldn't be swept away in the storm. And as soon as it became clear where the storm was going to hit, even Alabama had sent us National Guard. Pennsylvania has offered us and is sending us 2,500 National Guard.

 

O'Brien: But ...

 

Barbour: Would I have liked to have had 5,000 National Guard on the ground on Tuesday morning? Yes, that's not - other states are not going to give up their National Guard until they see what's happening to them. I don't blame them.

 

O'Brien: But I'm talking about assets, like, you know, amphibious vehicles that the Navy has. It has helicopter support, hospital support, the ability to generate power, that sort of thing. We haven't seen that kind of thing, the kind of thing we saw, incidentally, in the wake of the tsunami.

 

Barbour: Well, I'm not going to be critical of what the federal government has done. We're very grateful for it. You know, it's easy to go back and pick the bones, but we feel like they have tried very hard.

 

This is the worst natural disaster that's ever struck the United States. Everybody down here is trying hard. Everybody is tired and fractious. So, I don't want to argue with you about it. But a lot of people from all over the country are helping us, and we really appreciate them, because we're making progress. And we're going to recover from what has been a grievous blow to our state, not just the coast. And we're going to rebuild, and it's going to be bigger and better than ever. But we're not going to do it by nitpicking.

 

O'Brien: Governor Haley Barbour, Mississippi. Thank you for your time, sir.

 

Barbour: Thank you, Miles.

 

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/9/...5933.shtml?et=y

if the federal goverment is so prepared. Then why are 30,000 to 50,000 men, women and children within the converntion center still starving to death. Laying down and sleeping next to corpses. Not having water and food?

 

If the governement state/federal didnt drop the ball why did they keep turning down money requests to fix the levies and build stronger ones to withstan more then a cat 3?

 

Nobody could prepare fully for a hurricane like this, you never can. But, every hurricane causes huge amounts of damage when it hits the US. Every hurricanes causes deaths. I am not going to drill bush or anyone else for this, you can only do so much before to prepare.

 

But, there is no excuse for what is happening now.

I don't think federal government equals Bush in this case. There are agencies that way outside of Bush's immediate sphere that are responsible for helping out right now. It's kind of amazing that they haven't been able to evacuate the "refugees" by now. You can argue forever about whether or not they were prepared enough beforehand, but I think it's pretty clear that they're not doing enough now. They really ought to be able to marshall the resources to get those people out.

 

Speaking of Bush, though, I don't know, if you've watched his speeches the last couple days, there's just something missing there, like he doesn't get it. He's not coming off as particularly comforting or as much of a leader. He just did a speech where he stood in a circle with other rescue officials and it was just very, very awkward.

this is funny.

 

 

mississippi is saying the fed gummit has done as much as they could, when the main focus has been on NOLA, and the NOLA mayor and Lousiana governor are playing the whining game on tv.

 

 

I think this is more a case of Mississippi having a semi-plan for what to do and Lousiana like usual having no clue.

 

 

If any blame should be placed, Its on Lousiana and they prove hourly how inept they are.

Hmmm... Well, it WAS a category 1 when it hit Florida, however, they knew once it blew back to see it was going to get worse. Heck, I don't even need to watch the news to get this, I saw it on the Weather Channel.

Katrina: Category 1 Killer that turned into a Cat. 5 magically within the hours before making landfall, a magical transition that I guess wasn't spoken about for days before.

 

You know, it's easy to go back and pick the bones, but we feel like they have tried very hard.

 

He doesn't exactly make it sound like everything that could have been done was done.

yawn..... "mainstream media's trying to pin it on Bush!"

 

 

hooray for Newsmax. Give it a rest.

The mainstream media including right-leaners O'Reilly, Scarborough, and many more? They are blasting Bush for his disturbing performance post-disaster and I think it's legitmate criticism. He has been just plain awful.

The mainstream media including right-leaners O'Reilly, Scarborough, and many more? They are blasting Bush for his disturbing performance post-disaster and I think it's legitmate criticism. He has been just plain awful.

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I agree, but I believe they got the message and now have fire on their ass. Troops are pouring in NO and I believe it will get better soon

The mainstream media including right-leaners O'Reilly, Scarborough, and many more?? They are blasting Bush for his disturbing performance post-disaster and I think it's legitmate criticism.? He has been just plain awful.

926391[/snapback]

 

I agree, but I believe they got the message and now have fire on their ass. Troops are pouring in NO and I believe it will get better soon

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4 days after the fact. Its amazing we are able to get needed materials to Iraqis half way across the world and we can't even take care of our own people.

The mainstream media including right-leaners O'Reilly, Scarborough, and many more? They are blasting Bush for his disturbing performance post-disaster and I think it's legitmate criticism. He has been just plain awful.

926391[/snapback]

Which and Scarborough and O'Reilly telecasts have you been watching?

I saw O'Reilly last night calling the situation disturbing and he was being critical of Bush plus Scarborough was calling it pitiful.

Anyone for Bush installing a Military Governor to manage a district of Louisiana and Mississippi?

 

Anyone?

this is funny.

 

 

mississippi is saying the fed gummit has done as much as they could, when the main focus has been on NOLA, and the NOLA mayor and Lousiana governor are playing the whining game on tv.

 

 

I think this is more a case of Mississippi having a semi-plan for what to do and Lousiana like usual having no clue.

 

 

If any blame should be placed, Its on Lousiana and they prove hourly how inept they are.

926267[/snapback]

 

 

Um, you do know that since 2003, Bush has cut funding to reinforce the levees along Lake Pontchartrain, diverting the funds to Iraq, right? And you do know that everyone in the State of Louisiana, from Mayor Nagin to Gov. Blanco to Sen. Landrieu were BEGGING for funding to be restored to reinforce the levees (which were being built basically on the cheap until the workers couldn't buy materials anymore)? What were they going to do to accomplish this, raise taxes? Yeah, like that would go over well in a red state.

 

And let's face it: it may not be as bad as the "one fell swoop" doomsday scenario that a direct hit or veer to the west would have caused, but rather it's death by a thousand drips. And I just listened to an interview by WWL radio with Mayor Nagin, and he sounded like he did all he could and was downright exhausted, receiving no help whatsoever while Bush helps his butt-buddy in good-ole-boy Mississippuh. Oh, and why is it that Bush has visited Mississippi and Alabama, but not Louisiana? Could it be that both of those states have Republican strangleholds while Louisiana has a Dem governor and New Orleans has a Dem mayor? Nah, can't be.

Is it just me or doesn't it seem odd that if Louisianans thought the levees were such a big issue they would have passed a sales tax or property tax to pay for it? Louisiana has a Democratic Governor, Senator and New Orleans Mayor/Orleans Parish President.

 

Florida paid for plenty of Lake Okeechobee Levees and even had the Army Corps of Engineers commissioned to straighten the Miami River in Palm Beach County.

Well, let's take a timewarp back to 1928. You think maybe THAT'S why the Army Corps of Engineers was called in to build a better levee system for Lake Okeechobee?

 

It just seems like people have to die before the FEDERAL government finally does the right thing. Starve the beast MY ASS!!!!!

The State paid for it. Louisiana could have built it themselves and gone after federal monies later. Safety was not first in Louisiana.

Is it just me or doesn't it seem odd that if Louisianans thought the levees were such a big issue they would have passed a sales tax or property tax to pay for it? Louisiana has a Democratic Governor, Senator and New Orleans Mayor/Orleans Parish President.

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That funding is really the responsibility of the federal government (to the army corps).

 

I'm guessing the massive pricetag of the project is what has caused the feds to balk at adequately funding it for the past 40 years.

 

Of course we'll be paying out of the ass now.

Is it just me or doesn't it seem odd that if Louisianans thought the levees were such a big issue they would have passed a sales tax or property tax to pay for it? Louisiana has a Democratic Governor, Senator and New Orleans Mayor/Orleans Parish President.

 

Florida paid for plenty of Lake Okeechobee Levees and even had the Army Corps of Engineers commissioned to straighten the Miami River in Palm Beach County.

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Come on cape. Its not one of the wealthiest places in the country. And if they passed a progressive tax or a tax on the industries, guess what kind of people would be jumping all over the government for taxing people into oblivion? Moreover, they did try and raise money for a system back in 1998(yes Clinton years) and it just wasnt enough. They asked the federal govt to help and the federal govt did not provide any money back then. Then the Army Corp of Eng. tried to fix it and Iraq got in their way. There is plenty of blame to spread around here. But maybe this will show that preemptively spending tax dollars on fixing a problem can be huge. Had the govt spent the 12 billion needed to fix the problem a long time ago, they wouldnt be spending billions more to rectify the situation.

 

Part of the blame also goes to the shipping industry. The environmentalists are going to say "I told you so" and they are going to be correct. They destroyed a lot of natural flood barriers out of their own personal interest.

I don't think it's a legitimate criticism to say that if New Orleans or Louisiana were so worried about the flooding they should've spent more money on it or raised taxes. You're talking about one of the poorest cities and one of the poorest states. Any money raised for the levees or whatever would have to come from something else, whether you take money from education or something else on the budget, or whether you just take more money out of poor people's pockets by raising taxes, that's A LOT of money you have to raise for something that at the time certainly wouldn't have seen an immediate concern.

 

Also, just to add, there are probably many more potential disaster areas around the country (for example, most of California) and it just isn't feasible to throw that much money at prevention...unfortunately, sometimes all you can do is wait, and when something happens, then you react.

this is funny.

 

 

mississippi is saying the fed gummit has done as much as they could, when the main focus has been on NOLA, and the NOLA mayor and Lousiana governor are playing the whining game on tv.

 

 

I think this is more a case of Mississippi having a semi-plan for what to do and Lousiana like usual having no clue.?

 

 

If any blame should be placed, Its on Lousiana and they prove hourly how inept they are.

926267[/snapback]

 

 

Um, you do know that since 2003, Bush has cut funding to reinforce the levees along Lake Pontchartrain, diverting the funds to Iraq, right? And you do know that everyone in the State of Louisiana, from Mayor Nagin to Gov. Blanco to Sen. Landrieu were BEGGING for funding to be restored to reinforce the levees (which were being built basically on the cheap until the workers couldn't buy materials anymore)? What were they going to do to accomplish this, raise taxes? Yeah, like that would go over well in a red state.

 

And let's face it: it may not be as bad as the "one fell swoop" doomsday scenario that a direct hit or veer to the west would have caused, but rather it's death by a thousand drips. And I just listened to an interview by WWL radio with Mayor Nagin, and he sounded like he did all he could and was downright exhausted, receiving no help whatsoever while Bush helps his butt-buddy in good-ole-boy Mississippuh. Oh, and why is it that Bush has visited Mississippi and Alabama, but not Louisiana? Could it be that both of those states have Republican strangleholds while Louisiana has a Dem governor and New Orleans has a Dem mayor? Nah, can't be.

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This has nothing to do with red state-blue state bulls*** you're spewing.

 

If you haven't noticed W got 57% of the vote in Louisiana.

 

Yeah, real smart take the President of the United States to the most volatile city in North America. Then fly him over a city where some idiots have been firing on rescuers. I'm sure that would be the FIRST place Bush and his people would go to.

Oh BTW, President Bush just spoke from Kenner, Louisiana a minute ago.

 

He also flew by helicopter over the city of New Orleans, Louisiana .

I think Haley Barbour's Admin. could have done more before the storm, but now that the aftermath is being dealt with, Mississippi is moving along.

 

Louisiana is just a mess. Blanco and Nagin are inexperienced and do not give clear directions to those who need them.

I was born in Slidell- New Orleans.

 

I lived there for many years and I feel really sad about what happened. However, these people CHOSE to stay. I know some poor people could not or had no means to leave- but this is a category 5 storm here.

 

No one should stay in a Cat 5 storm...The government is doing all they can to help. The libs will do anything to bash Bush.....haha funny stuff.

this is funny.

 

 

mississippi is saying the fed gummit has done as much as they could, when the main focus has been on NOLA, and the NOLA mayor and Lousiana governor are playing the whining game on tv.

 

 

I think this is more a case of Mississippi having a semi-plan for what to do and Lousiana like usual having no clue.?

 

 

If any blame should be placed, Its on Lousiana and they prove hourly how inept they are.

926267[/snapback]

 

 

Um, you do know that since 2003, Bush has cut funding to reinforce the levees along Lake Pontchartrain, diverting the funds to Iraq, right? And you do know that everyone in the State of Louisiana, from Mayor Nagin to Gov. Blanco to Sen. Landrieu were BEGGING for funding to be restored to reinforce the levees (which were being built basically on the cheap until the workers couldn't buy materials anymore)? What were they going to do to accomplish this, raise taxes? Yeah, like that would go over well in a red state.

 

And let's face it: it may not be as bad as the "one fell swoop" doomsday scenario that a direct hit or veer to the west would have caused, but rather it's death by a thousand drips. And I just listened to an interview by WWL radio with Mayor Nagin, and he sounded like he did all he could and was downright exhausted, receiving no help whatsoever while Bush helps his butt-buddy in good-ole-boy Mississippuh. Oh, and why is it that Bush has visited Mississippi and Alabama, but not Louisiana? Could it be that both of those states have Republican strangleholds while Louisiana has a Dem governor and New Orleans has a Dem mayor? Nah, can't be.

926525[/snapback]

 

This has nothing to do with red state-blue state bulls*** you're spewing.

 

If you haven't noticed W got 57% of the vote in Louisiana.

 

Yeah, real smart take the President of the United States to the most volatile city in North America. Then fly him over a city where some idiots have been firing on rescuers. I'm sure that would be the FIRST place Bush and his people would go to.

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Exactly...this city has been out of control ALWAYS. New Orleans should never have even been built into a city (under sea level). These people are acting like savages and Im not talking about the ones looting food and water. Im talking about the (people) taking beer, clothes, and just flat STEALING.

 

I used to go to a bank in New Orleans where 3 people got shot in 1 week- 3 seperate incidents....just madness.