Ray Nagin

"There's way too many frickin' -- excuse me -- cooks in the kitchen."

"I need reinforcements, I need troops, man. I need 500 buses. Get every dog-gone Greyhound bus line in the country and get their asses moving to New Orleans … This is a major, major, major deal. I can't emphasize that enough.""

"I just tell you, I'm not a big FEMA fan."

"You know, I'm sure I could have done a lot of things much better, but I will tell you this, Tim: I was there."

"I think I did everything possible known to any mayor in the country as it relates to saving lives."

"They're feeding the people a line of bull, and they are spinning and people are dying."

"I don't know whether it's the governor's problem, or it's the president's problem, but somebody needs to get … on a plane and sit down, the two of them, and figure this out right now."

"They thinking small, man, and this is a major, major deal."

"Get off your asses and let's do something."

"As we think about rebuilding New Orleans, surely, God is mad at America. He's sending hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it's destroying and putting stress on this country. Surely, he's not approval [sic] of us being in Iraq under false pretenses. But, surely, he is upset at black America, also."

"I don't care what people are saying Uptown or wherever they are. This city will be chocolate at the end of the day...This city will be a majority African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be."

"You take dark chocolate, you mix it with white milk, and it becomes a delicious drink. That is the chocolate I am talking about."

"New Orleans was a chocolate city before Katrina. It is going to be a chocolate city after. How is that divisive?"

"This economic pie that is getting ready to explode before our eyes is going to be shared equally."

"It'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."

"Do I worry about it? Somewhat. It's not good for us, but it also keeps the New Orleans brand out there, and it keeps people thinking about our needs and what we need to bring this community back. So it is kind of a two-edged sword."

"Some of these guys are so violent that it is hard for witnesses to come forward, and they get involved in repeat criminal activities, so it is unfortunate that they had to die, but it did kind of end the cycle that we were struggling with."

"The rise of the Earth's temperature, causing sea level increases that could add up to one foot over the next 30 years, threatens the very existence of New Orleans."