Transcript for Aug. 27

MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: One year ago Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. What is the state of the recovery, and could this happen again? With us: An exclusive interview with the mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, and the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, David Paulison.

Then, how will Katrina and the war in Iraq affect the midterm elections? And John McCain and Hillary Clinton seek to refine their positions on the war.  Insights and analysis from Albert Hunt of Bloomberg News, Robert Novak of the Chicago Sun-Times, Kate O’Beirne of the National Review, and Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post.

But first, joining us now from New Orleans, the mayor of that city, Ray Nagin.

Mr. Mayor, let me show you the latest map from the National Hurricane Center.

As of 8 a.m., Ernesto is now strengthened to be classified as a hurricane.  Its track, as projected, seems to be veering a bit east of New Orleans. Are you prepared, is your city ready if, God forbid, Ernesto hits your city?

MR. RAY NAGIN: Well, Tim, we are ready from an evacuation standpoint. All of our plans have been updated. We’re not going to have a shelter of last resort in the Superdome or the convention center. We will be getting everyone out of the city. We’ve fined-tuned these plans, we’ve practiced them, and we are ready to go. Our infrastructure is still a bit fragile, but as far as getting people out to safety, we’re ready.

MR. RUSSERT: When would an evacuation begin if, in fact, you believed Ernesto was going to bore in on New Orleans?

MR. NAGIN: Well, normally everything cranks up at 54 hours before a storm is scheduled to make landfall. At 30 to 36 hours is when we would have to make the call for a mandatory evacuation. Everything’s in place, our emergency center is set up and we’re ready to go.

MR. RUSSERT: Are the police, are the bus drivers, are the first responders, have they all been designated start times? Are they ready to go? Will they show up?

MR. NAGIN: We have a complete plan that deals with all of our emergency responders. We also have coordinated with the state. There’s 3,000 National Guard troops that will descend upon the city if it’s imminent that the hurricane is coming to us, and then we will be ready to evacuate and to secure the city and hunker down for the storm.

MR. RUSSERT: So we would not see a replay of last year?

MR. NAGIN: You will never see that replay of last year as long as I’m mayor of the city. We made a strategic decision as we evaluated what we had done that we would not house people in the city. So we may use trains, buses, you name it, to get everyone out of the city in the event of a hurricane hitting us.

MR. RUSSERT: The head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said yesterday it was “unclear” as to whether or not the levees could perform or hold a level 3 hurricane. Is that your understanding?

MR. NAGIN: Well, it’s my understanding that they’ve rebuilt the levees much better than we’ve ever had in our history. But they’ve only had time to repair the levees that were breached or damaged. So the entire system is still not up to the standards of sustaining a Category 3 storm or better. So we still have some vulnerabilities. But if another Katrina came in the same direction, we would be much better protected.

MR. RUSSERT: But you would be flooded?

MR. NAGIN: We would have some overtopping. The thing that everyone fails to really focus on is, with a hurricane, it’s the storm surge that’s really the major concern. And when you have a storm surge of 25 to 30 feet and the Corps of Engineers has only built the levees up to 20 feet, you will have some overtopping. But we don’t expect the catastrophic failures.

MR. RUSSERT: Mr. Mayor, you said some things to “60 Minutes” late in the week which will air tonight, that has generated an enormous response from people, particularly in New York. Let’s just watch a little bit what you said.

(Videotape):

MR. BYRON PITTS: But you can’t get the cars out yet, you can’t get this demolished.

MR. NAGIN: That’s all right. You guys in New York City can’t get a hole in the ground fixed. And it’s five years later. So let’s be fair.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: “A hole in the ground,” referring to the devastation left behind by September 11. Peter King, the New York congressman, had this to say. “It’s really disgraceful and shameful. ... Ground zero is sacred ground. ... To refer to it as a hole in the ground, to me, is shocking and inexcusable. ... Especially considering Mayor Nagin’s own record. I mean, when Katrina was there, he was the one who had 500 school buses under water, he’s the one who wasn’t able to evacuate his city, he’s the one who lost his composure on national television several times.” You’ve now had several days to reflect on this. Will you apologize for calling what many believe is sacred ground, the place where thousands of Americans died, as a hole in the ground?

MR. NAGIN: You know, Tim, let me make sure that you understand the context of that discussion. You know, “60 Minutes,” we did that piece about two months ago, and I got a very direct e-mail from them saying that I shouldn’t do this interview because they thought they had an exclusive two months ago.  Then we started to see all these promos and what have you. The context of that discussion was about why has it taken so long for New Orleans to get back up to speed, and I was mainly using the comparison of the site. And I should have probably called it an undeveloped site as of yet. But I used the—a term that seemed to have gotten some people upset. But I think once people see the “60 Minutes” piece in its entirety, I think they’ll, they’ll calm down a little bit. I meant no disrespect for anyone. I have seen death, I’ve seen the destruction, and I was just using it as a comparison to show how difficult it is for people to rebuild after a major disaster.

MR. RUSSERT: But you are sorry for the families who lost loved ones on that ground, who...

MR. NAGIN: Absolutely. I’m—Tim, I am...

MR. RUSSERT: They believe it’s sacred ground, not a hole in the ground.

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