CBS Presents Former Mayor Nagin as an 'Expert' on Eve of Hurricane
On Friday's Early Show, CBS somehow thought it was appropriate to bring on former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin to offer "lessons learned from other hurricanes," as Hurricane Irene bore down on the East Coast. Anchor Chris Wragge not only failed to ask Nagin about his failures in leadership in the lead-up to Hurricane Katrina, but also twice labeled his guest an "expert in the field" [audio clips available here].
After making his first reference to the former mayor as an "expert," Wragge first asked the Democrat, "What comes to mind for you when you hear about a hurricane this size bearing down on the East Coast, a region- especially up here in the Northeast, it's not always used to this kind of weather conditions?" In reply, the politician took the time to not only promote his new book, but also tried to rehabilitate his damaged image:
[Video clips from the segment available after the jump]
NAGIN: Well, it's very concerning, Chris, because this storm has a larger footprint than Hurricane Katrina. And, in my book, that I self-published through CreateSpace, I talk about what we did to prepare for it, the evacuation. Most people don't know we got about 95% to 96% of the people who were in the city out of harm's way before the storm hit. So, there's many lessons to be learned from our experience.
During the rest of the interview, the CBS anchor consulted Nagin for his advice, not once mentioning how the former New Orleans mayor waited until the last 24 hours before Katrina's landfall to declare a mandatory evacuation of the low-lying city, and how he failed to utilize his government's fleet of buses to evacuate people before their parking lots were flooded by storm waters. However, Wragge did mention FEMA's "lack of response" after the 2005 hurricane:
WRAGGE: A little bit more difficult to evacuate, like in New York City, just because of the sheer volume. And then, there's also people on the Outer Banks, there are people on the coasts of New Jersey and other regions, that don't necessarily want to evacuate, think they can ride it out. What type of advice would you give these people?...
WRAGGE: One of the biggest after-effects of Katrina was the lack of response. President Obama has already issued states of emergencies in certain states, North Carolina being one. But how do you gauge and how do you feel FEMA is doing now since Katrina with disasters like this? Is there a better state of preparedness, do you feel?...
WRAGGE: Can I ask you this? I mean, what do you feel- as far as the precautionary measures that have been taken along the East Coast already, has anything stood out to you as- well, that's not a great idea, or that's a good idea that you've heard in the last few days?...
WRAGGE: Biggest lesson that you learned from Katrina: any type of advice that you can impart on the people here in the Northeast right now?
At the end of the segment, the journalist thanked Nagin, again labeled him an "expert in the field," and added, "if people aren't heeding the advice of their local officials, they should definitely heed your advice."
Later on Friday, MSNBC also brought on the Democratic politician during Martin Bashir's program and on Hardball. Unlike Wragge, Bashir did raise how Nagin was "accused of being too late in ordering that mandatory evacuation," and asked, "In retrospect, and given, you know, you knew all about the circumstances in which people were living in New Orleans, do you accept that just as FEMA underperformed, you also had some failings?"
The full transcript of Chris Wragge's interview of former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, which aired 19 minutes into the 8 am Eastern hour:
CHRIS WRAGGE: As the East Coast prepares for Hurricane Irene, we want to pay attention now to some lessons learned from other hurricanes- number one on the list: Hurricane Katrina
And joining us now is former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, and his new book about Katrina and its aftermath is called 'Katrina's Secrets.' Mr. Mayor, good morning. Thank you for joining us here this morning.
C. RAY NAGIN, FORMER MAYOR, NEW ORLEANS: Good morning, Chris, and our thoughts and prayers out to everyone on the East Coast as they deal with this threat.
WRAGGE: And I'm sure they thank you for that. You are an expert in the field here. What comes to mind for you when you hear about a hurricane this size bearing down on the East Coast, a region- especially up here in the Northeast, it's not always used to this kind of weather conditions?
NAGIN: Well, it's very concerning, Chris, because this storm has a larger footprint than Hurricane Katrina. And, in my book, that I self-published through CreateSpace, I talk about what we did to prepare for it, the evacuation. Most people don't know we got about 95% to 96% of the people who were in the city out of harm's way before the storm hit. So, there's many lessons to be learned from our experience.
WRAGGE: A little bit more difficult to evacuate, like in New York City, just because of the sheer volume. And then, there's also people on the Outer Banks, there are people on the coasts of New Jersey and other regions, that don't necessarily want to evacuate, think they can ride it out. What type of advice would you give these people?
NAGIN: Well, don't do it. If you're in a low-lying area, my advice is to get out as quickly as you can. You can always come back home. Take what you need- take your pets, your medicine, enough food and water for at least a week. You can always come back home. That's the big- one of the biggest mistakes our citizens made- the people who decided to ride it out, and they paid a heavy price for that.
WRAGGE: One of the biggest after-effects of Katrina was the lack of response. President Obama has already issued states of emergencies in certain states, North Carolina being one. But how do you gauge and how do you feel FEMA is doing now since Katrina with disasters like this? Is there a better state of preparedness, do you feel?
NAGIN: Well, I have good confidence in Craig Fugate, who heads up FEMA. He's been there. He was in Florida. He done it before. But my bigger concern is that the laws that govern what happens after disasters- the Stafford Act- really haven't changed, and we, as a nation, don't really have a national evacuation plan. So, unfortunately, we're probably going to struggle with a few more disasters.
WRAGGE: Can I ask you this? I mean, what do you feel- as far as the precautionary measures that have been taken along the East Coast already, has anything stood out to you as- well, that's not a great idea, or that's a good idea that you've heard in the last few days?
NAGIN: Well, I've been watching this thing pretty closely, and I think that the governors- to declare a state of emergency, the mayors who have been ordering people out in low-lying areas- is a good thing. I think one of the other things that they need to work on and focus in on is, how do they get people out? We have a very complicated formula of turning all our highways around. It's called contra-flow. So, we make sure that we maximize the number of people coming out. I'm not sure that can be done on the East Coast, but if it can, it probably would help.
WRAGGE: Biggest lesson that you learned from Katrina: any type of advice that you can impart on the people here in the Northeast right now?
NAGIN: Well, the biggest advice is to make sure that people understand the seriousness. And, you know, one of the things there on the East Coast is that there's no real buffer. We had a buffer to kind of lessen the impact of the storm surge. Storm surge is the biggest threat that's facing the East Coast, and there's nothing to slow down the waves that are headed your way.
WRAGGE: Well, Mayor Ray Nagin, we thank you so much for taking the time. Like I said, you're an expert in the field, and if people aren't heeding the advice of their local officials, they should definitely heed your advice. Thanks again- good to see you.
NAGIN: Well, thank you, and our thoughts and prayers and- are out to the East Coast, and you can get through it. We got through it in New Orleans.
WRAGGE: All right. Mayor Ray Nagin, thanks so much.
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Comments
Seems fair.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 10:55am.
After all, they present Bernacke-attackie, Turbo Tax-Geithner, and Never-had-a -real-job-Obama as "experts" on the economy. Why not School Bus Nagin?
I hear that after Pelosi is dethroned, CBS is going to have her on a show about "Natural Beauty" and the evils of plastic surgery. Of course, if she has one more facelift before then, they may have to shave her goatee.
Yeah, Nagin's an expert, all right...
Submitted by Dave. on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 10:58am.
...an expert on criminal negligence and gross incompetence.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
FEMA - under Clinton. Shhh.
Submitted by Gary Hall on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 11:06am.
Sept. 7, 2005
1999 Hurricane Swamped Clinton's FEMA
Democrats led by Sen. Hillary Clinton are blaming the Federal Emergency Management Agency for failing to respond adequately to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
But FEMA didn't do much better under much less taxing conditions, when the floods that followed Hurricane Floyd left tens of thousands stranded up and down the Eastern seaboard, wondering what happened to federal rescuers.
New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida were hit hard when Floyd slammed the coast on Sept. 16, 1999. It was the worst storm to hit the U.S. in 25 years - yet it killed only 61 people. That death toll expected to be dwarfed by Katrina.
Clinton FEMA Director James Lee Witt won high marks for hurricane preparation, but the flood that followed swamped his agency.
A full three weeks after the storm had passed, Rev. Jesse Jackson interviewed Witt on his CNN show "Both Sides Now" - and complained that flood victims were still suffering from a "misery index."
"It seemed there was preparation for Hurricane Floyd, but then came Flood Floyd," Jackson began. "Bridges are overwhelmed, levees are overwhelmed, whole town's under water . . . [it's] an awesome scene of tragedy. So there's a great misery index in North Carolina."
Witt explained that the storm's devastation was unparalleled, prompting Jackson to ask what was being done for the thousands of families left homeless by Floyd.
Though nearly a month had passed since the storm first hit, Witt said his agency was just beginning to address the problem.
"We're starting to move the camper trailers in," he explained. "It's been so wet it's been difficult to get things in there, but now it's going to be moving very quickly. And I think you're going to see a -- I think the people there will see a big difference over within this next weekend." [..]
FEMA's sorry performance left her overwrought. "I had been let down so many times, I just lost it," the flood victim said. "A friend of mine came walking up, and I just started toward her. She said, 'Robin, what in the world is wrong?' I was just standing there in the middle of the street crying, totally disoriented, practically hysterical."
Weeks after Floyd's floodwaters subsided, the suffering for many had yet to be addressed. "We passed hundreds of families sitting outside their now-uninhabitable homes, with their water-soaked possessions spread out on their lawns," the Raleigh's News & Observer noted on Oct. 3, 1999.
"Desperately picking through the mess for anything to salvage, most people - particularly the elderly - seemed to be in a state of shock."
And where was FEMA?
"The larger towns had a visible FEMA and Red Cross presence," the paper said. "But in smaller towns it looked like utter confusion and despair - no one in charge, no one knowing what to do or where to go for help."
Yep --
(;~/ gary
"Expert" " Um, ok...
Submitted by NJRightWinger12 on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 11:26am.
If this dudes an expert, then Kaddafis an expert on human rights! Nagin is THE one who caused the panic, and led to the disaster heaped on his people, cause he wouldnt allow them to leave on "city buses"! So, how did he spin it? By blaming it on Bush, of course, and for his desire for N.O. to be a "Chocolate city", remember? I do, and I'll never forget!
A failure at something can be an expert if honest.
Submitted by Red Jeep on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 11:33am.
If his pride doesn't get in the way of saying, Here's what to do, I know because I made these mistakes. Learn from what I didn't do right.
Where Do The Networks Find Them?
Submitted by Comrade Jim on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 11:36am.
Where did CBS find Wragge? In all my life I have never encountered people so stupid as some of these reporters in the media. I think they must be a little hard to find. Yes they can usually string two grammatically correct sentences together and they know New York is north of Florida. But they are not just lacking wisdom, common sense, and judgement, they seem to exalt in flaunting it. It is even beyond that. There is some obsession with promoting failure, failed policies, and failed politicians.
CBS, NBC,... etc. must have to search the country East to West, North to South, top to bottom to find such people.
Expert? Did you say expert?
Submitted by NotFondOfLibs on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 12:22pm.
Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is no expert on hurricanes, no matter what anyone says. Between Nagin and former Louisiana Governor Blanco, those 2 epitomize incompetence in the face of impending disaster. Those 2 clowns were practically paralyzed with fear as Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans. To brand Nagin as an expert on hurricane preparation is to call an arsonist a master chef. What a joke!
"What comes to mind for you
Submitted by jkwtrading on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 12:23pm.
"What comes to mind for you when you hear about a hurricane this size bearing down?
Nagin answer...get the f-ck out of there.
When safely away blame everyone else.
Yea, he is the expert I would use
Submitted by ohio granny on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 1:28pm.
But only to let people know what NOT to do.
Ray Nagin IS an expert...
Submitted by Phryj1 on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 4:28pm.
...at the fine art of blaming Bush and the GOP for all of your own astronomical screw ups. This has become the Dems favorite strategy. Harry Reid and his stooges in the Senate blamed Bush and the GOP for the market crash (race-based 'fair' lending requirements and blocking reforms aimed at Fannie and Freddie, both of which the Dems are directly responsible for), the impending shut down (Reid kept obstructing every meaningful cut), military forces not getting paid if we shut down or default (GOP specifically passed measures to ensure the military got paid and Reid blocked them), the narrowly averted default (Reid dragged it out on Obama's behalf by blocking multiple GOP plans), and the downgrade (the GOP passed Cut, Cap, and Balance, which according to S&P executives WOULD HAVE prevented the downgrade, Reid blocked it).
Ray Nagin's complete failure to get an evacuation ready and request FEMA assistance BEFORE the hurricane hit caused innumerable preventable casualties. He was a pioneer of blaming Bush and the GOP for his own failures, and Obama and Senate Dems have gleefully embraced this technique.
The Democrat strategy: run the country into the ground then blame your opposition for absolutely all of it. Democrats are pure concentrated scum. They refuse to take responsibility for anything.
Progressives seem to be completely averse to facts and logic. Apparently, reality has a conservative bias.