Xavier Larry King and Rev Jesse Jackson

From New Orleans Wiki

Partial transcript

Larry King speaking with Rev. Jesse Jackson 9-1-05

But first, he's just arrived in New Orleans, let's check in on the phone with Reverend Jesse Jackson, the founder and president of Rainbow Push. When did you get there Jesse?

REV. JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW PUSH (by telephone): We got here about two hours ago. (INAUDIBLE) organized seven busses to come to evacuate 40 to 50 students from Xavier University.

It is amazing to see the city completely dark at this time of night. I'm on the bridge just above the Superdome now and perhaps as the governor said as many as 300,000 people yet to be evacuated. This is an awesome task but this has been an evacuation disaster at least as great at Katrina.

KING: How did you get in?

JACKSON: Well, we were able to get -- I met with the governor this afternoon with (INAUDIBLE) and we were able to use a rather circuitous route to get in and students are up on the bridge. They're finding ways to boat them out of the school through boats up onto the bridge but much of the city of course is still under very high levels of water.

It is an impact of us not preparing for this (INAUDIBLE). And, Larry, when it's all said and done no doubt thousands will be found under the rubble of this city on the water.

KING: Thousands. What do you make of snipers and people interfering with people transporting to Houston?

JACKSON: Well, I think that has really been exaggerated. You have the combination here of misery and panic and desperation. Some people have not eaten in five days, are without water, without food and have no form of communications.

So, there may have been some sniper fire here and there but you know we didn't let that stop us on our mission in Iraq because there is some sniper fire. We just put on flack jackets and kept on the mission.

So, for FEMA to stop evacuating people because of the fear of sniper fire was not a good thing because people are left in hospitals without electricity and people are left on top of roofs and will not have any proper foodstuffs.

The issue here is not the looters in the streets because you can't really do much looting in the streets. I've seen that same picture 20 times. The issue (INAUDIBLE) today it's $6.00 a gallon for gas in Atlanta, Georgia. Look at that part of the looting as well.

KING: Jesse will be in New Orleans all day tomorrow and give us a much more thorough report tomorrow night.

One other thing and I know you'll get a good lay of the land and we appreciate your being with us again tomorrow, do you question your faith when something like this happens?

JACKSON: Well, I do not. This is a physical disaster. What I do is I analyze more clearly are these series of storms based upon our affecting the climate with ozone layers because of carcinogens? I raise that question.

Could we, in fact, have prevented this disaster? We've got 12- foot high levees and there has never been a level three storm coming this way that has gone over that levee and this is a level five that hit New Orleans indirectly.

And the fact is this year the budget was cut for infrastructure and so the (INAUDIBLE) that they needed here were in Iraq. The helicopters they needed here was in Iraq and the money to invest and make the city more secure was likewise invested in Iraq. We're paying the big price for not reinvesting in America's infrastructure.

KING: I'm going to ask Senator Frist about that in a moment. Thanks, Reverend Jackson.