Before the hurricane struck, the Mayor and Governor were begging for federal help to put sandbags at the levees and to get rescue trucks in to evacuate people; they weren’t just asking people to leave, they were asking for federal help to get people who didn’t have transportation out.
See the letter asking for help here… the letter the president ignored for 4 days.
Fox News and the Bush administration are now blaming the Governor and the Mayor, saying the didn’t ask for help, and didn’t explain what they needed. It’s not true; the white house are liars.