Why Michael Brown misspoke about convention center

New York Times ^ | 9-15-05

[navysealdad]

Mr. Brown said that in one much-publicized gaffe - his repeated statement on live television on Thursday night, Sept. 1, that he had just learned that day of thousands of people at New Orleans's convention center without food or water - "I just absolutely misspoke." In fact, he said, he learned about the evacuees there from the first media reports more than 24 hours earlier, but the reports conflicted with information from local authorities.

[navysealdad]

Mayor Ray Nagin I had said that the convention center would not be used for evacuees. It appears Mr. Brown was getting wrong information from the Mayor.

[Yo-Yo]

Mr. Brown, then director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said he told the officials in Washington that the Louisiana governor, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, and her staff were proving incapable of organizing a coherent state effort and that his field officers in the city were reporting an "out of control" situation.

"I am having a horrible time," Mr. Brown said he told Mr. Chertoff and a White House official - either Mr. Card or his deputy, Joe Hagin - in a status report that evening. "I can't get a unified command established."

By the time of that call, he added, "I was beginning to realize things were going to hell in a handbasket" in Louisiana. A day later, Mr. Brown said, he asked the White House to take over the response effort.

[listenhillary]

I don't remember much (if any) coverage of the convention center before Wednesday 8/31.

[pageonetoo]

W did this man a disservice, and should have refuesed his resignation. He should have released the emails, and let the Dims stew. But, of course, he also spends a lot of time with his new brother, Bubba... and is willing to sweep poor Mike out the door!

[Enchante]

Governor Blankhead and Mayor Noggin will not be able to avoid the true facts as they emerge.... FEMA could have been better but state and local officials in LA showed absolute, stunning ineptitude and made everything 100x more difficult for the feds.

[xcamel]

Wondering if there is a bit deeper conspiracy here to set MB up - and make GWB look bad by proxy.....

[Conspiracy Guy]

Conspiracy?

[msnimje]

People BROKE INTO the convention center to use as shelter. Then Wednesday officials told evacuees elsewhere in the city that buses would be at the Convention Center Thursday morning to take people out of New Orleans.
This is why there were so many people there all of a sudden Thursday morning.

[cwb]

"I don't remember much (if any) coverage of the convention center before Wednesday 8/31."

---

That's because the media is lying. During CNN's Friday morning interview with Brown, Solidad asked him why he wasn't aware of the problems at the convention center until Thursday, when CNN had been reporting it for "days." Yet, the only two references I have seen WRT the convention center before 9/1, came from the Miami Herald and the Times Picayne on Wednesday.

In the Herald's report, they didn't mention any "problems" at the CC and that only about 50 people were taking shelter near the CC ramp. And if I recall, the TP article only mentions that about 3000 refugees were seeking shelter at the CC. While I admittedly don't watch a lot of CNN, Foxnews was not reporting these problems until after 9/1.

[Colofornian]

I don't remember much (if any) coverage of the convention center before Wednesday 8/31.

I watched a fair amount of evening coverage that week...and I frankly don't remember ANY coverage of the Convention Center until Friday of that first week. I'm sure it was being covered during the day Friday...but evening-wise, I didn't see any coverage until Geraldo came gallantly riding to the rescue and was frantically exercised about folks not getting anything there.

Now, tell me, if the media w/its all-powerful communications' systems and folks on the ground were either largely or perhaps completely "missing the boat" on convention center coverage, why do we find fault w/the feds? The convention center was no small target. And if it embarrassed the govt to have Geraldo type reports on Friday night, then surely the MSM would have found a way to do it earlier if it could.

[God luvs America]

Mr. Brown's version of events raises questions about whether the White House and Mr. Chertoff acted aggressively enough in the response. New Orleans convulsed in looting and violence after the hurricane, and troops did not arrive in force to restore order until five days later.

The account also suggests that responsibility for the failure may go well beyond Mr. Brown, who has been widely pilloried as an inexperienced manager who previously oversaw horse show judges.

Of course nowhere in the article does the Slimes take up Brown's contention that local officials where way over their head- rather they blame the WH....typical, lib BS...

By Saturday afternoon, many residents were leaving. But as the hurricane approached early on Sunday, Mr. Brown said he grew so frustrated with the failure of local authorities to make the evacuation mandatory that he asked Mr. Bush for help.

"Would you please call the mayor and tell him to ask people to evacuate?" Mr. Brown said he asked Mr. Bush in a phone call.

"Mike, you want me to call the mayor?" the president responded in surprise, Mr. Brown said. Moments later, apparently on his own, the mayor, C. Ray Nagin, held a news conference to announce a mandatory evacuation, but it was too late, Mr. Brown said. Plans said it would take at least 72 hours to get everyone out.

Complete BS....as was posted on this site, as NO prepared for the arrival of the hurricane Sunday night the Times-Picyuane quoted Nagin as saying he was "having his staff look into the legality of calling a mandatory evacuation"....as there were "liability concerns about forcing hotels and business to shut down" and that "you may see the first mandatory evacuation of New Orleans come Monday morning".

http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1125213007249320.xml?nola

[Steve_Seattle]

Even though this piece is still generally critical of Bush and Brown, serious cracks are beginning to appear in the "it was all Bush's fault" edifice that the media have created over the past two weeks. Finally, the NYT is beginning to reveal some of the serious problems that existed at the state and local level, and that is a significant breakthrough in media coverage of this event.

[Parley Baer]

Like has been posted before this would explain why it may have taken 24 hours for FEMA to realize it was dealing with total incompetence at all levels of the Louisiana governments. I agree that Brown was used as a scapegoat particularly by the MSM and the local politicians. I believe the President removed him because he had become a lighting rod. Could have been other reasons that will come to light. If there is blame Brown would only be down for maybe 5% while the other 95% goes to Nagin and Blanco.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Would you please call the mayor and tell him to ask people to evacuate?" Mr. Brown said he asked Mr. Bush in a phone call.

"Mike, you want me to call the mayor?" the president responded in surprise, Mr. Brown said

This exchange probably is a illustrative as any to explain why Bush didn't go out of his way to save Brown.

Bush doesn't strike me as a person who takes kindly to people passing tasks UP the chain of command to him.

The response Brown says Bush gave him is a lot like the response they teach you in "completed staff work" courses to watch for from your boss. If you ask your boss to take care of something, and your boss says "You want ME to do it? instead of "Thanks for passing it up to me", the response you should give is: "Oh no, I didn't want you to do that, I'm misspoke. I just wanted you to understand what was going on, just in case you felt you would be more comfortable taking action. I can certainly handle this".

[brytlea]

I was leaning that direction. But, could it be that now that he is not the head of FEMA he is more able to actually discuss what happened? Maybe that's not the case, but it occurred to me when I heard what he said on the news.
susie

[CharlesWayneCT]

I thought this as well. Since he resigned, he can leak information and lash out at the state and local response, without it reflecting on the white house.

[maryz]

The earliest media report I've seen referenced on anyone being at the Convention Center was posted by a FReeper proving it was known before Thursday, and that was dated at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night.

[brytlea]

Glad I'm not the only one who thought of that. I thought maybe I was crazy....
:)
susie

[BurbankKarl]

No, it couldnt have been better, unless the FBI rode with them past the roadblocks set up by the Louisiana State Patrol that prevented their trucks from entering the city.

They could have a big shootout at the FUBAR'D corral.

[rightinthemiddle]

No one in the media or New Orleans can count the days of the week...one is two, two is five, five is...