"We knew it was a strong storm developing for several days before it ever made landfall," AM host Miles O'Brien told Barbour, before asking, "Do you have the sense that the federal government has dropped the ball here, sir?"

Barbour rebuffed O'Brien's attempt to get him to play the blame game, insisting that he had his facts wrong.

"I think it's very unfair for the federal government, for you to say we knew this was a great powerful storm," Barbour said. "This was a category 1 hurricane when it hit Florida. Now that's the truth."

Instead of agreeing to disagree, O'Brien insisted it was Barbour who had his facts wrong.

"Governor, it was a category 5 storm," he declared. "No, no, Governor Barbour ... surely there was enough knowledge in advance that this was a huge killer storm a matter of days, not hours, before it ever struck landfall. And it seems to me the military" could have done more."

Still, the Mississippi Republican refused to be steamrolled, challenging the CNN host: "Now, Miles, if this is an interview or an argument, I don't care. But if you want to let me tell you what I think, I will."

With that, O'Brien relented and let Barbour have his say.

"I'm not going to agree [that the federal government dropped the ball] because I don't believe it's true," he told CNN. "The federal government came in here from the first minute - in fact, in advance. They have been tremendously helpful."

Here's the full exchange between O'Brien and Barbour:

O'Brien: The governor of Mississippi is Haley Barbour. He joins us now live. Governor Barbour, good to have you with us. Bring us up to date on the numbers. First of all, those numbers I just gave, are they accurate to the moment?

Barbour: Well, they're credible, Miles. They're certainly not official, but it's because the government has a policy of not counting fatalities until they've been certified by the coroner. But those numbers are credible, and we worry that they may go up some.

O'Brien: And when you say, "They may go up some," you've obviously been down there. I've been down there. I've seen the extent of the wreckage. I get the sense that they may go up quite a bit. What are you hearing about people who have missing loved ones or friends?

Barbour: Well, you have been down there, and between the coast and the railroad for an area of probably about 50 miles, there's total devastation. I mean, there's virtually nothing standing. Homes that are just totally obliterated. And going through that debris, some of which is waist deep or as tall as a man, going through that takes time. We've rescued a lot of people, and we've found a lot of people. But under all of that debris, it's realistic to believe there's going to be more people.

O'Brien: Let's talk about the response and what was put into position in advance of this storm. We knew about Katrina. We knew it was a strong storm developing for several days before it ever made landfall. Do you have the sense - because it's quite clear that state and local officials cannot handle this on their own. This is too overwhelming. Do you have the sense that the federal government has dropped the ball here, sir?

Barbour: I really don't. And I think it's very unfair for the federal government, for you to say we knew this was a great powerful storm. This was a category 1 hurricane when it hit Florida. Now that's the truth.

O'Brien: Governor, it was a category 5 storm.

Barbour: The federal government ...

O'Brien: A category 5 storm when it was ...

Barbour: No, it was a category 1 - it was a category 1 storm when it hit Florida. It was a category 5 storm a few hours before it came ashore.

O'Brien: No, no, Governor Barbour...

Barbour: The federal government has been a tremendous partner in this. They have helped ...

O'Brien: Governor Barbour, surely there was enough knowledge in advance that this was a huge killer storm a matter of days, not hours, before it ever struck landfall. And it seems to me the military ...

Barbour: Now, Miles, if this is an interview or an argument, I don't care. But if you want to let me tell you what I think, I will.

O'Brien: OK, go ahead.

Barbour: And what I think is this storm strengthened in the Gulf. We begged the people to leave, and thousands of people left. Thousands of people left New Orleans. The federal government came in here from the first minute - in fact, in advance. They have been tremendously helpful, whether it's the Coast Guard, the Corps of Engineers, FEMA.

O'Brien: But ...

Barbour: I don't think it's at all fair ...

O'Brien: But ...

Barbour: ... and I'm not going to agree to that, because I don't believe it's true.

O'Brien: But conspicuously absent from that short list you just gave us was the military, the Pentagon. This is a type of situation that cries out for the kind of support, the kind of logistics, the kind of coordination the military is ideally suited for. Why weren't more military assets prepositioned and ready for the possibility here?

Barbour: We prepositioned more than 1,000 National Guard, 175 on the coastal counties, 1,000 more 60 miles inland, so that they wouldn't be swept away in the storm. And as soon as it became clear where the storm was going to hit, even Alabama had sent us National Guard. Pennsylvania has offered us and is sending us 2,500 National Guard.

O'Brien: But ...

Barbour: Would I have liked to have had 5,000 National Guard on the ground on Tuesday morning? Yes, that's not - other states are not going to give up their National Guard until they see what's happening to them. I don't blame them.

O'Brien: But I'm talking about assets, like, you know, amphibious vehicles that the Navy has. It has helicopter support, hospital support, the ability to generate power, that sort of thing. We haven't seen that kind of thing, the kind of thing we saw, incidentally, in the wake of the tsunami.

Barbour: Well, I'm not going to be critical of what the federal government has done. We're very grateful for it. You know, it's easy to go back and pick the bones, but we feel like they have tried very hard.

This is the worst natural disaster that's ever struck the United States. Everybody down here is trying hard. Everybody is tired and fractious. So, I don't want to argue with you about it. But a lot of people from all over the country are helping us, and we really appreciate them, because we're making progress. And we're going to recover from what has been a grievous blow to our state, not just the coast. And we're going to rebuild, and it's going to be bigger and better than ever. But we're not going to do it by nitpicking.

O'Brien: Governor Haley Barbour, Mississippi. Thank you for your time, sir.

Barbour: Thank you, Miles.

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