Who Pressed For The Mandatory Evacuation Of New Orleans?

Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding.

This was more than a day before the hurricane hit. But unfortunately, there was no capacity to move the 10's of thousands of people that had no other means of transportation. It appears as if New Orleans did not have a workable evacuation plan in place that dealt with these souls.