KING: We're back.

Joining us now in Washington is Marty Evans, the President and CEO of the American Red Cross. She traveled with the president today. The Red Cross is not in New Orleans, why?

MARTY EVANS, RED CROSS PRESIDENT AND CEO: Well, Larry, when the storm came our goal was prior to landfall to support the evacuation. It was unsafe to be in the city. We were asked by the city not to be there and the Superdome was made a shelter of last resorts and, quite frankly in retrospect, it was a good idea because otherwise those people would have had no shelter at all.

We have our shelters north of the city. We're prepared as soon as they can be evacuated, we're prepared to receive them in Texas, in other states, but it was not safe to be in the city and it's not been safe to go back into the city. They were also concerned that if we located, relocated back into the city people wouldn't leave and they've got to leave.

KING: Marty, everyone looks at themselves when they're working in some kind of tragedy. Is the Red Cross examining itself saying could we have done more?

EVANS: Larry, we're always looking at that and, you know, in this particular case it's the largest disaster we have ever done in the history, 125 years of the Red Cross and we are determined to do more and more and, in fact, we are.

We're sheltering just under 100,000 people right now. We're gearing up to shelter even more people. We have people sheltered in nine different states, 275 locations, so we will continuously look at what we're doing, see if we can improve it.

And, the other thing I would say is that we're breaking new ground. We're setting up new systems and processes that get rid of the bureaucracy and make it easier for people.

KING: Reverend Jesse Jackson last night was in New Orleans. Tonight he is in Baton Rouge. When you were critical last night, Jesse, some in the administration followed by saying this is not a time for criticism. That may be later but not now. How do you respond?

REV. JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW-PUSH COALITION: Well, that's ridiculous. I mean the Red Cross' absence in New Orleans, the high point of the crisis is a disaster. It is a sin. We had no real plan for rescue and relief and relocation.

Last night we went into New Orleans to get -- with ten busses to take out 450 students from Xavier who had been on the bridge for three days and the painful part was we had to leave people who -- the human chain around the busses because they had been there four days and no plan to rescue them.

And then today we went back into New Orleans again on I-10 the causeway and there were like 6,000 people with seven busses. No bus had been there today and wonder why because across the street were 150 empty busses that had no place to take them, so no plan for rescue or for relocation. More people may die from lack of rescue and lack of food and water than from the flood itself. The people have not been very well served.

KING: Marty, how would you respond?

EVANS: Well, Larry, we were asked, directed by the National Guard and the city and the state emergency management not to go into New Orleans because it was not safe. We are not a search and rescue organization. We provide shelter and basic support and so we were depending, we are depending on the state and the agencies to get people to our shelters in safe places.

Originally posted by Majic

I'm not going to let FEMA off the hook easily.

Originally posted by Majic
It would be a crying shame if nobody learned from this.

HH: Joined now by Major Garrett, correspondent for the Fox News Channel, as well as author of The Enduring Revolution, a best seller earlier this year. We talked about that. Major Garrett, welcome back to the Hugh Hewitt Show.

MG: Hugh, always a pleasure. Thanks for having me.

HH: You just broke a pretty big story. I was watching up on the corner television in my studio, and it's headlined that the Red Cross was blocked from delivering supplies to the Superdome, Major Garrett. Tell us what you found out.

MG: Well, the Red Cross, Hugh, had pre-positioned a literal vanguard of trucks with water, food, blankets and hygiene items. They're not really big into medical response items, but those are the three biggies that we saw people at the New Orleans Superdom, and the convention center, needing most accutely. And all of us in America, I think, reasonably asked ourselves, geez. You know, I watch hurricanes all the time. And I see correspondents standing among rubble and refugees and evacuaees. But I always either see that Red Cross or Salvation Army truck nearby. Why don't I see that?

HH: And the answer is?

MG: The answer is the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security, that is the state agency responsible for that state's homeland security, told the Red Cross explicitly, you cannot come.

HH: Now Major Garrett, on what day did they block the delivery? Do you know specifically?

MG: I am told by the Red Cross, immediately after the storm passed.

HH: Okay, so that would be on Monday afternoon.

MG: That would have been Monday or Tuesday. The exact time, the hour, I don't have. But clearly, they had an evacuee situation at the Superdome, and of course, people gravitated to the convention center on an ad hoc basis. They sort of invented that as another place to go, because they couldn't stand the conditions at the Superdome.

HH: Any doubt in the Red Cross' mind that they were ready to go, but they were blocked?

MG: No. Absolutely none. They are absolutely unequivocal on that point.