Return to Transcripts main page
The Situation Room
Former FEMA Director Questioned by Congress; New Orleans Police Superintendent to Step Down
Aired September 27, 2005 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's 5:00 p.m. here in Washington, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where news and information from around the world arrive in one place simultaneously.
Happening now, tough and tense questioning for the embattled former FEMA director, testifying before a sometimes hostile committee about the botched Hurricane Katrina response.
It's 4:00 p.m. Central in New Orleans, where the police department is taking a double blow, including a surprise resignation.
And in southwest Louisiana, a scene of the worst devastation from Hurricane Rita. We have new video just in of the massive National Guard operation under way right now.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
The blame game in full swing on Capitol Hill. And the much criticized former FEMA director calling Louisiana dysfunctional, telling Congress that he's not a superhero and FEMA is not a first responder. That did not necessarily sit very well with some of those members.
Our Brian Todd has been watching this story. He's joining us now live here in Washington. Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it was classic Washington theater as Michael Brown handed out a lot of criticism and got it put back in his face.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): Saying he's happy to be the scapegoat, the former FEMA director still blasted back at his critics, taking dead aim at two of the major players in the Katrina disaster, even as he was admitting his own mistakes.
MICHAEL BROWN, FORMER FEMA DIRECTOR: My biggest mistake was not recognizing by Saturday that Louisiana was dysfunctional. For whatever reason, Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco were reticent to order a mandatory evacuation.
TODD: Michael Brown said that he tried to convince New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco to order a mandatory evacuation before they did. That wasn't enough to avoid a sharp rebuke from a Louisiana congressman. REP. WILLIAM JEFFERSON (D), LOUISIANA: I find it absolutely stunning that this hearing would start out with you, Mr. Brown, laying the blame for FEMA's failings at the feet of the governor of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans.
TODD: Brown said he didn't have the authority to order an evacuation. At one point he said FEMA deployed emergency response teams to potentially affected areas. At another point, he said FEMA's job is not as a first responder but as a coordinator. That drew the most contentious exchange of the hearing.
REP. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS (R), CONNECTICUT: You were very clear that your job is to coordinate. I want to know how you coordinated the evacuation.
BROWN: By urging the governor and the mayor to order the mandatory evacuation.
SHAYS: And that's coordinating?
BROWN: What would you like me to do, Congressman?
SHAYS: That's why I'm happy you left. Because that kind of, you know, look in the - in the lights like a deer tells me that you weren't capable to do the job.
BROWN: I take great umbrage to that comment, Congressman.
SHAYS: Why?
BROWN: Because FEMA did -- what people are missing in this entire conversation is the fact that FEMA did more in Hurricane Katrina than it did in Charley in Florida and the others.
SHAYS: Why is that relevant?
BROWN: We moved all those in there.
SHAYS: Why is that relevant?
BROWN: We did all those things. And things were working in Mississippi and things were working in Alabama.
SHAYS: No, but see, why I don't...
BROWN: I guess you want me to be this superhero that is going to step in there and suddenly take everybody out of New Orleans.
SHAYS: No. No, what I wanted you to do was to do your job of coordinating. And I want to know what you did to coordinate. Those are your words, sir. I didn't invent them.
BROWN: And coordinating is talking to the governor and the mayor and encouraging them to do their obligation to their citizens. I am not a dictator and I'm not going and cannot go in there and force them to do that. SHAYS: No, see, what I think that is, is just talk. It's not coordinating.
TODD: Then there's the Convention Center controversy, where hurricane victims desperately waited for help. This is what Michael Brown said on THE SITUATION ROOM on Thursday September 1.
BROWN: Wolf, we just learned today from the state about the Convention Center and the folks there. And the state ordered five truckloads of meals and food, so we started delivering those today.
TODD: This is what former Director Brown told Congress today.
BROWN: So I first began to learn about that about noon on Wednesday, and I misspoke on Thursday when I said, we were just learning about it.
TODD: It wasn't until that Friday, September 2, that food and water finally got to the New Orleans Convention Center.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Now, Michael Brown also took on the news media point by point for reporting discrepancies in his work experience that had been in Brown's official biographies. Brown went over his tenure as assistant to the city manager in Edmund, Oklahoma, working closely with emergency responders and police. A human resources official in Edmund verified that to CNN and said Brown's record there was very good.
Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Brian, thank you very much. Brian Todd reporting for us.
Meanwhile, the New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin, had this to say in reaction to Michael Brown's testimony.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR RAY NAGIN (D), NEW ORLEANS: Well, I think it's unfortunate. I think that for a FEMA director to be, you know, in Washington and trying to deflect the attention off of his performance is unbelievable to me. But you know, I'm not up there, so I can't really defend myself, but at the appropriate time we will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And we're going to hear much more from Ray Nagin coming up this hour. He has lots to say about what happened in the city and what's happening right now.
Some major developments, meanwhile, unfolding in New Orleans, where the city's police superintendent says he's stepping down. This comes on the same day officials announced some 250 officers will be investigated for leaving their posts without permission. CNN's Mary Snow is on the scene for us. She's joining us now live with details. Mary, lots of news in New Orleans today.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Wolf, and it's all been happening in the last couple of hours. The superintendent of police, Eddie Compass, made a surprise announcement. He didn't say why he's leaving, but he said just a short time ago that he is going to step down as superintendent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUPERINTENDENT EDDIE COMPASS, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT: At this time, within the next 30 to 45 days during the transition period, I will be retiring as superintendent of police. And I will be going on in another direction God has for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Just what that direction is, is unclear. Compass has been superintendent for three and a half years, on the force for 26.
Wolf, I saw him just a few days ago, one day before Hurricane Rita hit. I asked him if he was concerned about the city. He kind of brushed it off and said, you know, this is just the first quarter, seeming very resilient. Quite a surprise that he made this announcement today.
Now, this also comes as the city of New Orleans is trying to rebuild itself. We'll show you down Canal Street. This is the scene all over the city as businesses really try to clear out their structures, repair the damage and eventually get back up and running.
So far the mayor is saying that this program, which was restarted yesterday, is going well. He's saying that he may have an announcement as early as tomorrow about the next step.
Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Mary. Thanks very much. Mary Snow in New Orleans for us.
The president is paying his seventh visit to the hurricane zone today. He got a look at some of the hardest areas hit from Rita earlier today. He went to Lake Charles, Louisiana; Beaumont, Texas, among other places. And he addressed growing resentment over red tape and delayed aid for hurricane victims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I heard loud and clear from the parish presidents and the mayors that people are getting frustrated. And I understand that frustration. But I think it's very important to listen to the governors and the governor and the local folks about the conditions at home. People are working hard to get the utilities up and they're working hard to get fuel here for people. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Beaumont, Texas, is facing several more days before water and sewer services are restored, and power could take much longer.
Courtney Zavala from our affiliate, KPRC, is standing by in Beaumont now with an update. What's it like there, Courtney?
COURTNEY ZAVALA, KPRC CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, I'll tell you right now this is such a welcome sight. There's a couple Army soldiers that just went in the back yard of this house.
One of the woman's sons called federal agencies here to check on her, because they had not heard from her. She weathered the storm. Her house from the outside doing OK. Take a look on the outside for yourself. You can see. Anywhere the eye looks here, there is damage in Beaumont.
This tree, probably several years old, even the blacktop here of the driveway uprooted. Roots uprooted back here. The roof is torn down. And even on the house there, on the top, she says the structure of her house is OK, but they do have water damage here.
Beaumont, very fortunate, didn't receive the flooding here. But of course, the damage is substantial. The electric grid is totally destroyed in this area.
And of course, we're now in unbearable conditions because we're under a heat advisory. Now we do know that the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department said they need any and all the help they can get because the federal response is just very slow.
Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Courtney, thanks very much. Courtney Zavala of our affiliate, KPRC.
Let's check in with Jack Cafferty once again. He's in New York. Jack, what are you doing?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, like every story, there are two sides to the media coverage that occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Reporters brought to life the dire situation in New Orleans. Some say they actually pressured the government to step into action by exposing the horrid conditions there.
But when it came to other darker side of the story, the media missed the mark. Various news outlets, broadcast and newspapers, reported on inflated body counts, unconfirmed rapes and sniper attacks and roving gangs of armed bandits.
The mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, didn't help. He went on Oprah Winfrey's national TV show and talked about the people in the Superdome -- quote -- "watching dead bodies, watching hooligans killing people and raping people" -- unquote.
Some officials say the inaccurate reporting was due to a breakdown of communications. Others suggest race could have been a factor.
So here's the question this hour. Why did the media exaggerate what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina? CaffertyFile@CNN.com. We'll read some letters in about 30 or 40 minutes.
BLITZER: All right, Jack. Thanks very much. Jack Cafferty in New York.
The president of the United States is now coming back to Washington. These are live pictures you're seeing from Andrews Air Force Base here in the nation's capital. That big 747, that would be Air Force One on the ground right now, having come back, the president making his seventh trip to the hurricane region. He'll be helicoptering from there to the White House very soon.
It was ground zero for Hurricane Rita. We have new video that's just coming in showing the devastation in southwest Louisiana. We'll bring it to you.
Also, the New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin, speaking out about efforts to blame him for the chaos in his city. We'll have more of his reaction.
And we'll also talk to the mayor of Nederland, Texas, a town desperately in need of help. He met with President Bush today. He'll talk to us. He'll tell us what happened. Yesterday when he was on this program, he was not very happy. We will see if things have changed over the past 24 hours.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The Louisiana National Guard now involved in a major operation in the southwest corner of that state. That's the area that took the brunt of Hurricane Rita. In recent days Major Pat Simon has been surveying the damage. He's joining us on the phone now from the town of Carville. We're getting some new pictures coming in.
Major, first of all, thanks very much for joining us. You're there on the ground. What's it like?
MAJ. PAT SIMON, LOUISIANA NATIONAL GUARD: Well, I can tell you, and I just had a lieutenant that did some surveying today that went over the area, the affected area in southwestern Louisiana. And I was up there yesterday. And I've got to tell you, Wolf, everything south of the I-10 was just pretty much just smacked.
There's a lot of flooding to the south, as you have been seeing the last few days, especially around the little small town of Cameron. You go just east of that to Abbeville, just south of Lafayette. A lot of flooding took place out there. And in fact, when I grew up as a child, during the summertime, my family would take us out to Holly Beach, which is in the southwestern portion of that beach area just below Cameron. And it is just totally wiped out.
So what we're trying to do right now is the water is beginning to subside. And even before that, we've been doing some debris clearing operations. But water subsiding is a very good thing. We can get back in there, do a lot of debris clearing operations. We've already been in there with meals and water and ice to some 28,000 people so far.
Wolf.
BLITZER: As someone who has lived there for so long, what's it like to see this devastation? Give us a little of your personal reaction.
SIMON: I've got to tell you, Wolf, it's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking. First to the southeastern portion of the state and all those areas that we loved to visit as tourists, even living in Baton Rouge, and you know, we'd get out to New Orleans quite a few times. And we love that area. And we love the people of that area.
And just to see the look in their faces, the people that were so affected by this, they're so devastated. But they -- they promised to rebuild in those areas where they can rebuild. And we promised to be right there with them, working with them and trying to make sure that we help them every step of the way.
BLITZER: These homes look totally destroyed. The business look totally destroyed. Have you had a chance to speak with residents and business owners and get their flavor, get their -- they must be so depressed.
SIMON: I did. And it depends on where you are. The people where their homes were just so devastated -- let's say, in the Chalmette area, in St. Bernard Parish, Plaquemines Parish, where they probably cannot rebuild again -- they're devastated. However, when you go to some areas like, let's say around the French Quarter area in New Orleans, or let's say in the -- some portions of Lake Charles, where they will rebuild, they can rebuild, there's a bit of optimism and hope. They're saying, look, we took a big hit, but we will be back.
BLITZER: What's the reaction of people when, you know, you speak about how the government is doing, whether local, state or federal? Are they happy, not so happy, depressed, or are they encouraged?
SIMON: I'm sure you have mixed reaction. For the most part I can't tell you one negative thing that the people have been saying about the National Guard. And I've got to take my hat off to all the men and women that have been serving from not only Louisiana but all of the states that have been helping us out from just before day one with Hurricane Katrina and now the aftermath of Hurricane Rita. I mean, these folks literally just stopped what they were doing with their jobs. I hear stories all the time. They watched the scenes on TV and they said, look, I need to get down there to Louisiana. There was one member of the National Guard whose daughter was...
BLITZER: I've got to interrupt for a second here. Your commander in chief, the president of the United States, Major, is now walking down the stairs at Andrews Air Force Base from Air Force One, that big 747. He's back in suburban Maryland outside of the nation's capital, having toured the region now for the seventh time since Hurricane Katrina struck.
He'll be walking over to Marine One, the helicopter that will bring him to the South Lawn of the White House.
Wrap this up for us. Give us a little sense of hope as we look ahead, Major.
SIMON: Yes. I was saying the story about the soldier whose daughter was seeing the scenes and says, Dad, you have to get down there, and he did.
We'll continue what we were doing, Wolf. We'll continue saving lives. So far, 750 or so have been saved since Rita hit. We'll continue with our food distribution, passing out just tremendous amounts of food, water and ice. And we'll continue the debris clearing. We will be right here to help people rebuild.
BLITZER: Major Pat Simon of the Louisiana National Guard. Major, thank you very much. Good luck to everyone down there.
We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, small businesses and big suffering in the disaster zone. Ali Velshi is standing by. He'll introduce us to a restaurant owner in New Orleans facing an uncertain future. How's he coping? Can he bounce back? Important questions.
And later, from "Thelma and Louise" to the Oval Office. Our Jeanne Moos shares her take on TV's new commander-in-chief. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A large part of hurricane recovery hinges on getting businesses up and running again. But that can be especially hard for small businesses.
CNN's Ali Velshi is in New York. He's got the "Bottom Line". Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: One of the things that a lot of people may know, if you've got a business that's been destroyed in one of the hurricane affected areas, is that the Small Business Administration can step up and help you out. They have disaster loans. The Small Business Administration has a number of outlets and claims offices in the disaster areas.
In order to make a claim from the Small Business Administration, you actually have to be in a federally declared disaster area. But they've got physical disaster loans if you've suffered damage to your building, equipment, fixtures, things like that of up to $1.5 million. Twenty percent more than that you can get if you rebuild in a way that protects against the same kind of loss in the future. I suppose that means if you build your building higher or do things that avoid, you know, more flooding or whatever the case is.
We want to talk to one of the people who has been affected by this. Jerry Amato joins us now. He is at our New Orleans bureau. And he's the owner of Mother's Restaurant.
Jerry, good to see you.
JERRY AMATO, OWNER, MOTHER'S RESTAURANT: How you doing?
VELSHI: I'm good. How are you doing? You suffered a little bit of damage to your restaurant. Tell us a bit about that.
AMATO: Well, most of our damage was caused by the wind. We had some roof damage which allowed some rainwater to get in, and it ruined some coolers and it ruined some food. But most of our damage was caused by electrical outage. We were geared up for a -- I'm sorry?
VELSHI: Go ahead. You were geared up for?
AMATO: Labor Day weekend, which is a real big weekend in New Orleans. And we usually, you know, prep a week ahead of time. So when the hurricane hit, we were at maximum amount of food, prepared food and stored food that we would have in the restaurant for, you know, as busy a weekend as we can get.
And what happened was when the electricity went out, you know, the coolers were full, and we probably had 3,000 or 4,000 pounds of food that were in the coolers that spoiled.
VELSHI: Now Jerry, tell me what's happened so far. You're back into the place. Have you taken a look and have you started to do the things you need to do to replace the damaged equipment to get the place ready to get back into business?
AMATO: Well at the moment, we're working with a cleaning company who's doing -- who's sanitizing the buildings, the coolers, all the work areas, all of the office areas, everything in the building. We're trying to get it back up to code -- not to code but to standard so we can start producing food again and try to open.
The hardest part is the smell, obviously. And it takes a lot of work to clean out the coolers without replacing them, and that's what we're working on right now.
VELSHI: Who is paying...
AMATO: We may have some damage from -- I'm sorry?
VELSHI: Who is paying for this, Jerry? Are you able to pay for this? Are you able to get a disaster loan? Have you looked in to that or are you getting this thing up to speed first and you'll worry about that later? AMATO: That's basically what's happening. I mean, we've -- we have talked to FEMA and we've talked to our insurance company. And the insurance company is, you know, working with us on this. As far as major catastrophic loss, we weren't there. We didn't have any water. We didn't have any flood water. So you know, our insurance is working with us on this. And we plan on being open as soon as we can.
VELSHI: Jerry, are you -- do you have all the services that you need? You said you didn't get flooded, which was great. Do you have everything you need to get back into business? Are the deliveries that you need around? Can you get -- you've got your electricity or you're trying to get your electricity back?
AMATO: No. We've got electricity. We've had electricity for about two weeks, but we're right in the Central Business District, so we came back on -- you know, we're probably the area that comes on first because of city hall and all the government services and all the hotels and things. And then all of the things in New Orleans in that area are buried. You know, they're not on poles or anything. So we came -- we came back on about, I don't know, a week and a half to two weeks ago.
And the only thing that we're really lacking right now is potable water. We have to bring our own water in. And the city said something about the next week or so having potable water again.
As far as getting supplies and things like that, I've talked to my purveyors, and they're working, and there's some delivering already. So you know, I have to get up and running. And then there's a couple of purveyors that probably won't be back in a couple of weeks because of damage. And I'll just have to find alternate sources. And worst case scenario, we'll have to pick it up.
VELSHI: Jerry, we'll come and check the place out. We hope you're up and running really soon. Thanks for joining us.
AMATO: Thank you very much. And thanks for being -- covering this so well. There's a lot of people down here who need help.
VELSHI: That's good. Thank you, Jerry. We appreciate you saying that. It's always good to be a little bit helpful where we can.
Jerry Amato owns Mother's Restaurant, and he hopefully will be up and running pretty soon, Wolf. And maybe we'll get a chance to try some of his cooking one of these days.
BLITZER: We'll try his world's best baked ham. That's what it says on the sign.
VELSHI: That's right.
BLITZER: The best in the world, Jerry. So congratulations on that. Thanks very much, Ali, for that interview.
It's a case of he says, he says. Coming up, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin gets a negative job evaluation from former FEMA Director Michael Brown. Now Nagin is offering an evaluation of his own. We'll tell you what he's saying.
And in a new fictional White House, get this, the president wears high heels. We'll tell you about a new TV president. That's coming up tonight. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Put in the hot seat today by a Congressional committee, the former FEMA director, Michael Brown, was now squirming. He refused to shoulder the blame for the disastrous response to the Katrina disaster and he charged that Louisiana officials were - quote -- "dysfunctional."
The New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin, offered his views, in a session with reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Michael Brown's comment was that he was very strongly critical of the -- you and the governor, saying you couldn't work together. What are your thoughts?
MAYOR RAY NAGIN (D), NEW ORLEANS: Well, you know, you know, I think it's too early for us to get into that kind of, you know, name blame and all that stuff. Obviously there were issues across the board.
You know, the federal government, state government and local government, you know, did not have the processes in my opinion, to deal with a storm of this magnitude. And I think we need to step back and do an analysis of exactly what happened from the time before the storm to the time after the storm and let's be real with the public.
QUESTION: He said the city of New Orleans was dysfunctional.
NAGIN: Well, I don't know what he's referring to. You know, we were hit with a Category 5 hurricane. I don't know what else to say.
QUESTION: Was it dysfunctional?
NAGIN: We were saving lives, we were rescuing people, we were trying to evacuate. It was very hectic.
QUESTION: He said that the state, the governor and you, the mayor, did not work together. He couldn't get you to communicate.
NAGIN: You know, I don't know what he's talking about. All I know is that right after the storm hit, one of his FEMA people come down. They were one of the first people that alerted us to the twin span being out of service to the east. I appreciated that. And the next thing I knew there were like three other FEMA people that showed up, and we started talking to them about what our needs were. And, you know, promises were made and promises weren't kept so -- and then things started to escalate or spiral down from there.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) NAGIN: Well, I think it's unfortunate. I think that for a FEMA director to be, you know, in Washington and trying to deflect attention off of, you know, his performance is unbelievable to me, but, you know, I'm not up there. So I can't really defend myself, but at the appropriate time we will.
QUESTION: Did Michael Brown appear angry when he came -- had an audience with you? Because he said today he was very angry with Mayor Nagin?
NAGIN: No, I don't remember him ever being angry. He seemed to be a pretty laid back kind of guy. And every time he came in, we talked and, you know, he acknowledged and we talked about what our needs were and then he went off.
QUESTION: So there was no obvious tension?
NAGIN: Not that I'm aware of, not that I remember. You know, I don't even recall exactly when he came in, but I don't remember seeing him at the height of our struggles.
QUESTION: Mr. Brown seemed to be suggesting that politics was involved because he said in his testimony this morning that the response in Alabama and Mississippi where there are Republican administrations was sufficient or it was appropriate but here in Louisiana with the Democratic governor and mayor, it was not. Your thoughts on that?
NAGIN: You know, I'm not inside the Beltway, man, so I don't get into all that partisan politics stuff. You know, there were things that happened in Mississippi and Alabama that I'm sure that FEMA is not proud of. You know, to try and spin this from the standpoint that Louisiana was the only area that had problems I think is disingenuous.
QUESTION: That's what's going on? He's spinning this?
NAGIN: Well, you know, I haven't seen (ph) his tirades so I'm going to go look at it, and then I'll have a better response for you.
QUESTION: Do you accept any degree of responsibility for those deaths?
NAGIN: Look, I'm the mayor of the city and, you know, I probably could have done some things better than what I did. Like I said, I want to sit back and have somebody do an analysis on what we could have done better. We will update or are updating all of our emergency evacuation plans. We will continue to try and find the best ways possible to evacuate people out of this city.
But I will tell you this. We probably evacuated more people during this storm than ever before in the history of city. Could we have done better? Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The mayor Ray Nagin, the mayor of New Orleans speaking to reporters just a little while ago responding to charges from Michael Brown, the former FEMA director.
Trees and debris litter the ground in Nederland, Texas, and officials say there is no safe water or sewer system. They're all calling -- saying they're calling for help from hurricane -- for help to deal with Hurricane Rita. They're calling FEMA for help.
We spoke with the mayor, Dick Nugent, yesterday about the problems the city and its residents are facing. Now the mayor is joining us once again by phone. Twenty-four hours ago, Mr. Mayor, you were very depressed. The situation seemed bleak. What, if anything has changed over these past 24 hours?
MAYOR DICK NUGENT, NEDERLAND, TEXAS: Well, we hit bottom yesterday. There's no doubt about it. But we did receive two generators last night from a private source. I'll make that very clear. And these two generators are in the process of being installed and connected to our water system and our sewer system. And as we speak, these systems are being checked out for leaks and breakage and so forth, and we're slowly but surely creeping back up.
BLITZER: So, you're beginning to feel less neglected than you were yesterday? Is that right?
NUGENT: Well, we feel a little more love, but not much.
BLITZER: You met with the president. You were one of the mayors that was invited to meet with the president earlier today. What did you say to him?
NUGENT: I told him we had problems.
BLITZER: Did you get into specifics? And what was his reaction?
NUGENT: Yes, we did. We found him to be very receptive of or problems and he seemed to be very sincere. But the problems that we described were nothing real new, such as the problem we had getting our message through the bureaucracy of the State of Texas, on to the bureaucracy of FEMA.
BLITZER: And did he have a explanation for you of why the response at least to your town has been so slow?
NUGENT: Not really. But he said all the players in the regimes were sitting at the same table. They heard our story. And he said, they were going to back and really evaluate what we told him today.
BLITZER: And since then, has there been any movement at all?
NUGENT: Nothing. But -- we already had our generators, and that was our main problem ...
BLITZER: The generators you got from private individuals? Is that right? Mr. Mayor?
NUGENT: Yes, I'm here.
BLITZER: The generators you got from private people, not from government sources.
NUGENT: Absolutely. We went out on our own and contracted these out of the City of Houston.
BLITZER: So, I'm trying to figure out what the State of Texas and what the federal government have done for Nederland, Texas, since Rita destroyed a big chunk of your city.
NUGENT: Not very much.
BLITZER: And you're not getting a decent explanation from anyone? The president seemed interested but even he can't order a quick response? Is that what you're saying?
NUGENT: He seemed to be interested in what was going on as of today to seek a remedy, but we didn't get a definite answer.
BLITZER: How many people in Nederland, Texas -- how many people are involved in this devastation?
NUGENT: The population of Nederland is 17,400, but there's three mid-county cities out here, and a total of around 50,000 people and we're all in the same boat.
BLITZER: What other cities are you talking about?
NUGENT: Groves, Texas and Port Neches, Texas.
BLITZER: And their mayors are getting the same kind of treatment or lack of treatment as you are?
NUGENT: Basically, yes.
BLITZER: Well, this is hard for us to understand why? What are they -- what is the explanation? Is it red tape? Is it bureaucracy or is it what?
NUGENT: That's a really good question. I wish I knew the answer to it.
BLITZER: Because it seems very perplexing. The damage from all of Rita was certainly not as great as it could have been. There were a lot of preparations underway. We knew the hurricane went in along that border between Texas and Louisiana. You'd think that people would be rushing in to help.
NUGENT: Well, as it stands right now, the finger is being pointed in both directions. Texas is pointing at FEMA and FEMA is pointing at Texas.
BLITZER: Well, let's -- we'll check back with you again tomorrow, Mr. Mayor and see how you're doing and Dick Nugent is the mayor of Nederland, Texas. Good luck to you and everyone in your community.
NUGENT: Thank you for having us on and thank you for trying to help us get our message out. BLITZER: Well, we're just trying to report the news. But, you know, you need some help and hopefully you'll get it.
NUGENT: Thank you.
BLITZER: It's a life saving device worn by police and presidents. That would be bulletproof vests. Coming up, one manufacturer now faces a new probe over their safety.
And you've seen it before, but rarely like this. Tonight on television, the president, wearing a dress. We'll tell you about the show and we'll ponder the political possibilities. Jeanne Moos standing by with that.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Now to the argument over an accessory worn by police officers, Secret Service agents, even the president of the United States. That would be bulletproof vests. The maker of one version is now under fire.
Our Justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, is here in THE SITUATION ROOM to explain what's going on -- Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, if a company whistleblower is right, then Second Chance Body Armor withheld information that may have put lives in jeopardy, including the president's. The company says it's being punished for doing the right thing, the allegations surfacing in a recent deposition.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA (voice-over): President Bush attended this event in 2002 to honor police officers killed in the line of duty. Ironically, he may have been wearing a bulletproof vest that was defective, according to a recent deposition from whistleblower Aaron Westrick. Westrick said he believes the vest was not only defective, but that the company that made it, Second Chance Body Armor, knew it. Westrick's lawyer is Steve Kohn.
STEPHEN KOHN, AARON WESTRICK'S LAWYER: The armor at issue here was sold as the premiere. This was the Cadillac, the Mercedes. People traded in armor that worked to buy this armor for more money. It was highly profitable. They didn't want to take it off the market because they were making so much money.
ARENA: Kohn says his client has documents to prove his former employer knew the vest was defective but did not recall it, not until 2003 when a California police officer allegedly wearing one was killed. The Secret Service would not comment.
Second Chance denies the allegations, and says when it found out its xylon vests were substandard, took immediate action.
We spoke on the phone with one of company's lawyers.
DOUG WAGNER, ATTORNEY, SECOND CHANCE BODY ARMOR: When they knew they had a problem, they led the industry. They were the first to announce a problem. They were the first to take directive action. They were in bankruptcy by the time their nearest competitor announced a similar type of recall.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: And the company's problems are far from over. Government sources say that the government is conducting a criminal investigation on top of a Justice Department lawsuit that was filed last summer.
Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Kelli Arena, thanks very much. Kelli reporting for us.
Just ahead, what Rita left behind -- bloggers posting pictures from the disaster zone. We'll check the situation online.
And tales of murder and mayhem. Did the news media miss the mark in reporting on the chaos after Katrina? We'll hear what you have to say, Jack Cafferty standing by with that. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Residents stung by Hurricane Rita are taking pictures of the toll of devastation. Let's get the situation online from our Internet reporter, Jacki Schechner. Jacki?
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Wolf. Well, earlier in the show we showed you some of the 1,100 photos posted on NOAA's Web site of aerials of the area after Hurricane Rita, this one of Port Arthur, Texas.
We wanted to show you the view also from the ground. We found some photos on the photo blog flickr.com, these from Tony Allen-Mills, who is a New York-based reporter for the "Sunday Times of London" and an aspiring photographer. You can see these of Port Arthur, Texas, the Waffle House, and also some photographs, again, of Port Arthur and the flooding on the ground here in Beaumont, Texas.
This is from a photo stream by someone named hellcat. You can see the overturned trailer truck and the orange sign down, and also the Blockbuster Video store. I'm guessing their late fees waived at this location.
And finally wanted to show you Lake Charles, Louisiana, this is from sjb's photo stream. You can see the stadium light bent but not broken. This one not having fared as well.
And finally, this is a playground. You can see how it is completely floated -- flooded -- excuse me -- this one in Lake Charles, Louisiana, as well.
Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Jacki. Thanks very much. Let's go over to Nicole Murry of our affiliate KLFY. She's in Erath, Louisiana. What are you seeing, Nicole?
NICOLE MURRY, KLFY REPORTER: Well, we were over in parts of Erath, and while the water has receded, we are still seeing now what Hurricane Rita has left behind. The smell over here is almost unbearable. We were in a little neighborhood that's basically backed up right into Acouli (ph).
And the people over there were telling me the water receded sometime between yesterday afternoon and this morning. Lots of dead fish everywhere. A few people that were nice enough to let us inside their homes showed us that basically they don't have much left to claim. They're pulling out their carpets right now.
What little material things that they did manage to bring out of the house, but it really wasn't much -- telling me many of the stuff, much of the stuff is just completely gone, including family photos, things that, you know, just cannot be replaced. Furniture is gone. Everything is gone. And it's really much the same everywhere in Erath.
Right now we're standing just behind the -- this is one of the many areas where the National Guard as well as other military from around the country -- volunteers are just passing out food, ice, water to these people who have absolutely nothing left.
Some of these people from down southern Vermilion Parish, Pecan Island, Forkit Island and those areas, by the way, are just completely devastated. That's also including intercoastal cities. So it's really heartbreaking talking to a lot of these people.
BLITZER: Very sad there indeed. Nicole Murry of our affiliate KLFY, thanks, Nicole very, very much.
Let's go up to New York. Jack Cafferty has been going through your e-mail. He's joining us live. Jack?
CAFFERTY: Wolf, on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, various media outlets reported on inflated body counts, unconfirmed rapes, sniper attacks and roaming gangs of armed thugs. Some officials say the inaccurate reporting was due to a breakdown in communications. There was anarchy in the couple of days immediately following Katrina. But others suggested race could have been a factor.
So the question is this. Why did the media exaggerate what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina?
Sheree in Tucson writes, "Gee, are you sure it was the media? The way I remember it, there were a number of politicians telling the media a load of erroneous tales of unexpected death toll in the thousands, babies being raped, et cetera."
Phil in Farmington, New York: "The answer is simple. No sensationalism equals no viewers." Pardon me. Ron writes: "I've been meaning to say this anyway. The press did an outstanding job. If not for the press, nothing would've been done. I didn't think this could happen in the U.S. but it did."
Mike in Austin, Texas writes: "Some media outlets knew that it was politically beneficial to the president to portray the people of New Orleans as thugs and rapists. This is all in the name of 'fair and balanced' reporting."
And one for the other side. Jim in Oxford, Ohio writes: "With all of the TVs in THE SITUATION ROOM, you had to make up situations to fill them all. I don't know, Cafferty. You're the media, you tell us."
I'll tell you this, we didn't make up anything in THE SITUATION ROOM, did we, Wolf?
BLITZER: We try to just report the facts, only the facts and nothing but the facts.
CAFFERTY: There you go.
BLITZER: A little opinion from you occasionally.
CAFFERTY: Once in a while we whine a little bit, or I do.
BLITZER: A little bit, a little bit. Jack, I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks very much.
Still ahead, Madame President. Hillary Rodham Clinton may covet that title, but a new TV character is beating her to the punch. Is it a fantasy or a future reality? We'll check it out, Jeanne Moos standing by.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A new president of the United States will be sworn in tonight on network television and she is causing quite a stir. CNN's Jeanne Moos puts her spin on "Commander in Chief," and a new measure of whether Americans are ready for a woman in the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who knew that when Geena Davis drove off that cliff in "Thelma and Louis" she would one day land in a limo as president of the United States ...
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Madame President.
MOOS: ... being madamed (ph) and ma'amed (ph) to death.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you really want to be president?
GEENA DAVIS, ACTRESS: I want to be the pretend president, and I am, as it turns out.
MOOS: Actually she starts as vice president and takes over after the president has an aneurysm. Though political foes try to dissuade her ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really must insist that you strongly ...
DAVIS: You're not in a position to insist how I take my coffee.
MOOS: Think of "Commander in Chief" as the "West Wing" meets "Desperate Housewives."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will they put your face on money?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Female president. Can't you smell the history?
MOOS: Polls show that the scent is getting stronger. How long before a woman is elected president? The next 10 years say 46 percent of Americans polled.
(on camera): Are you ready in reality for a female president?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You bet your life.
MOOS: By the way, 6 percent of those polled said there would never be a female president.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's my daughter that thinks that women are too sentimental, too emotional, to handle, you know, up front. I think it's time for a little caring in the White House.
MOOS (voice-over): But her own sister disagrees.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it needs a little more time.
MOOS (on camera): Are you going to slap her around when you get her home?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
MOOS (voice-over): The bad guy in "Commander in Chief" is the speaker of the House, played by Donald Sutherland. Is he the one who sabotaged the new President's teleprompter as she addressed Congress?
DAVIS: The White House ...
MOOS: President Mackenzie Allen barely misses a beat going on to ad lib a heartwarming speech. We had something similar in real life.
JEANINE PIRRO (R), NEW YORK SENATE CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton ...
MOOS: The woman running for the Senate against Hillary Clinton froze. PIRRO: Drop page 10.
MOOS: Fiction meets reality in this first episode in New Hampshire where a group hoping to convince Condoleezza Rice to run for president is running a political ad during the debut of "Commander In Chief."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good, she's going to be our president in a few years.
MOOS: Imagine, Hillary verses Condi, or Condi versus Oprah.
(on camera): How about Condi Rice?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not on an empty stomach -- or not on a full stomach.
MOOS (voice-over): As for the president's husband, the first gentleman finds his quarters ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very pink.
MOOS: This isn't the first movie featuring a female president and a first hubby. Ask Fred McMurray, admiring portraits of previous first ladies. We've come a long way. "Commander in Chief" even features a menopause joke.
DAVIS: Nathan, but we have that full, once a month will she or won't she press the button thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a couple years, you won't have to worry about that any more.
MOOS: Now, that's enough to make a female president go nuclear, unlike a male president. He'll go nucular. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Leave it to Jeanne Moos for an excellent report like that. Jeanne, thank you very much. Always good to have you in THE SITUATION ROOM.
And we're here in THE SITUATION ROOM every weekday afternoon, 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern. I'm Wolf Blitzer.
LOU DOBBS TONIGHT starting right now. Lou is in New York, standing by. Hi Lou.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
