Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Mea Culpa Time

I may have overstated my case a bit, when I posted about Nagin's assertion that the state is mainly responsible for the delay in receiving recovery money (I've really got to learn to think twice about posts I enjoy writing too much). AS any reader of da po'blog (more here and here) would know, the mayor had a point, but I can't see how it says much for the mayor.

Like I've said before, for a non-politician, the mayor seems to be more adept at campaigning than governing. I'm not naive enough to believe that many incumbent politicians always put government before politics, but Nagin's the worst on that score than any politician since, well, George Bush. Other than bring up the issue to campaign against the Lieutenant Governor, has Nagin done anything about the problem? If, as Nagin says, the state plan gives money to residents as far north as Monroe, shouldn't that be an opportunity?* I would think that would be an opening for the city and the rest of the metropolitan area to start working together and for Greater New Orleans to start working with the rest of south Louisiana. When I heard the mayor mention Monroe, I wondered why the mayor wasn't on the phone with other S. La. mayors/parish presidents or why his legislative floor leaders weren't working with other S. La. legislators. Then I just wondered who his legislative floor leaders even were.

That doesn't Landrieu off the hook by any means. If a reporter actually pursued the question in the next debate, he could put both candidates on the spot. Of course, that would take time away from national issues like immigration.

Second mea culpa, or explanation rather: my last post was by no means intended as an argument against Nagin; it wouldn't be a valid reason for changing your vote. If it seemed a little far fetched, I don't believe that it was. Alphonso Jackson didn't just make potentially inflammatory statements, he challenged the nation's black leadership to respond. Of course, that could just be an attempt to provoke a protest of New Orleans housing project residents led by Jesse Jackson--that would help fire up the base, but that was followed by Bush's photo-op with Nagin. What could better neutralize Katrina as an issue than a Democratic New Orleans mayor who blames Louisiana's Democratic governor? I have no idea how big of an issue Katrina will be in the Fall congressional election, but it does contribute to the competency issue and, as of now, it does more to fire up the Democrat base than the Republican base.

Final mea culpa: I'm voting for Mitch. Now where do I go to appear in a commercial? Mitch, you haven't done a Mid-City/Faubourg St. John commercial yet.

*Having worked for a small, somewhat upscale national restaurant chain for five years, it really, really pained me to type that opportunity part. The local branch closed sometime around the turn of this century.

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