New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin may run for Governor

[Reaganfan]

Hilarious! I want to see Nagin and Blanco go at it!

Blanco is regretting declining re-election. She said that because she thought that Breaux would run and have a good shot at winning. Now that he isn't running, maybe she wants back in.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Gee, as a liberal, I find conservative policies objectionable.  I know that's bizarre of me, but I guess I'm just some deviant...

Not a deviant, perhaps, but there's some kind of very tragic disconnect.

Nagin's management before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina was not the sole contributor, but definitely a significant contributor, of human suffering, misery, and death.  His ability to govern credibly and capably is nil.

And you want to give him a promotion, without even thinking of the—by comparison—far more capable Republican, or even one of the fourteen other minor name Democrats who will probably be running.

Notice that I called him the 2nd worst person to be governor, and the only way I'd ever support him is if it's him vs. Jindal (such as in the runoff).

Harry you really need to stop speaking in absolutes.  With what your saying David Duke (and don't say he wouldn't try it) would be a better governor than Jindal or Nagin

[DanielX]

Nagin would be a horrible Governor, and probably a bad candidate. The GOP should be happy - it would almost surely lead to Jindal becoming Goverenor. I don't think even the national GOP's incompetence will manage to overcome Nagin's monumental mismanagement of New Orleans.

[Keystone Phil]

Nagin would be a horrible Governor, and probably a bad candidate.

Understatement of the year.

[??????????]

Good. Maybe we can have a chocolate Louisiana if Nagin wins

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[WalterMitty]

nagin is a good man, but obviously i support jindal.

[??????????]

nagin is a good man

Where you in a coma in the fall of 05?

[WalterMitty]

nagin is a good man

Where you in a coma in the fall of 05?

no.  i saw brownie's good job.

[??????????]

nagin is a good man

Where you in a coma in the fall of 05?

no.  i saw brownie's good job.

More of the responsibility of evacuation/cleanup falls on the individual cities/muncipalities/counties then falls on the US Federal govt. That's how our country works buddy and Florida has not failed at that job. That's why we are #1 in hurricane preparedness.

[DownWithTheLeft]

nagin is a good man

Where you in a coma in the fall of 05?

no.  i saw brownie's good job.

More of the responsibility of evacuation/cleanup falls on the individual cities/muncipalities/counties then falls on the US Federal govt. That's how our country works buddy and Florida has not failed at that job. That's why we are #1 in hurricane preparedness.

Jeb Bush > Kathleen Blanco
Charlie Crist > Kathleen Blanco
Jeb Bush > Ray Nagin
Charlie Crist > Ray Nagin
Kathleen Blanco = Ray Nagin

That is why one is good at handling hurricanes and one is not

[Sensei]

Wow, finally someone who will make Michael Steele's campaign look white

It'll make Mfume's campaign look white.

[minionofmidas]

But in the world of reality, Blanco has 2 years to improve herself.  It wasn't that she was bad during Katrina, she was just frazzled.  And I wonder why?  Maybe because a situation like that had NEVER happened before and there's nothing she could've done to prepare herself for it.  Yeah, I probably would've been frazzled too.  But Blanco has 2 years to rebuild the state, and could do a lot of good.

For the record, HRC, you're an ass.  You rarely if ever contribute anything to the discussion on this forum other than snide remarks of no substance.

Well said! 

But some of his snide remarks are genuinely funny!

[Reaganfan]

It's big cities. What about Mississippi? Governor Barbour is gonna win re-election easily. Alabama also got devestated by Katrina...but you don't see "Impeach Bob Riley" signs. Florida got hit first by Hurricane Katrina...but Jeb's high popularity didn't budge.

Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne all hit Florida within six weeks in Fall 2004, and yet George Bush won the state decently, and there were no significant problems like in New Orleans.

New Orleans was it's own worst nightmare. They were sitting ducks and Katrina was the big one. I remember watching my computer screen on the early morning of August 29, 2005...one side was a satellite loop of Katrina pushing onto the coastline....the other was of people drinking and hanging out on Burbon Street seemingly careless as to the fact that the worst hurricane to threaten the U.S. since Camille in 1969 was just hours away.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Blanco was one of the WORST governors - but she is WAY better than Nagin would be.

He played the race card for Katrina as his cities buses sat there, able to take people to safety.  The man is a MORON!  This is going on my blog.

[??????????]

This is going on my blog.

Why do you really want to piss off the one reader you have?

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

nagin is a good man, but obviously i support jindal.

^^^^^^

More of the responsibility of evacuation/cleanup falls on the individual cities/muncipalities/counties then falls on the US Federal govt. That's how our country works buddy and Florida has not failed at that job. That's why we are #1 in hurricane preparedness.

None of your cities are in a bowl that far under sea level.  NOLA did not sustain much wind damage, it sustained the worst possible flood damage.  A few more years of climate change and y'all might get the same picture.

The fact remains - regardless of whether you are a Bush-blamer, a Nagin-blamer, or a Blanco-blamer - the real responsibility lies with all of us who allowed New Oreleans to remain protected by a meager levee.  It is we who failed to demand that our officials act to protect the city long ago, and it is us who fail today to ensure that the city is protected in case it happens again.

Nagin made some mistakes, especially some of the things he said after the disaster.  Leadership is a huge responsibility, and I am more than willing to forgive a man under that kind of pressure.  Those that accuse him of playing the race card need to examine their own hearts and ensure that they too are not allowing skin color to bias their opinions.

[??????????]

Ok. I give up and agree. Nagin made no mistakes.





and last but not least.

[HardRCafé]

The voters of Wasilla, Alaska, are somehow to blame that the voters of New Orleans, Louisiana twice elected this dipwad.

[Henrykrinkle]

The voters of Wasilla, Alaska, are somehow to blame that the voters of New Orleans, Louisiana twice elected this dipwad.

It wasn't until after Katrina that it became apparent that Nagin wasn't quite up to the task of being an effective mayor.  When he was first elected, in 2002, he was seen as a big change from the good ol boy mayors that N.O. traditionally elected.  In fact, in 2002, Nagin overwhelmingly won Lakeview, the only strongly Republican neighborhood of New Orleans, largly because he was seen as pro-buisness and not a tool of the previous Democratic administrations.

With all that being said, however, by 2006 it was inexcusable to re-elect him.

[Verily]

New Orleans was it's own worst nightmare. They were sitting ducks and Katrina was the big one. I remember watching my computer screen on the early morning of August 29, 2005...one side was a satellite loop of Katrina pushing onto the coastline....the other was of people drinking and hanging out on Burbon Street seemingly careless as to the fact that the worst hurricane to threaten the U.S. since Camille in 1969 was just hours away.

And surely no one was complacent elsewhere, only in New Orleans. it's all the cities' fault because they're liberal and Democratic. Give us a break, Naso.

The fact remains - regardless of whether you are a Bush-blamer, a Nagin-blamer, or a Blanco-blamer - the real responsibility lies with all of us who allowed New Oreleans to remain protected by a meager levee.  It is we who failed to demand that our officials act to protect the city long ago, and it is us who fail today to ensure that the city is protected in case it happens again.

Tell me, why shoudl we be spending huge amounts of money to save a city that can't possibly survive more than 100 years into the future anyway? It isn't even like Venice, which has historical architectural value. Tear down the defenses of New Orleans and encourage the people to leave.

[Brandon H]

New Orleans was it's own worst nightmare. They were sitting ducks and Katrina was the big one. I remember watching my computer screen on the early morning of August 29, 2005...one side was a satellite loop of Katrina pushing onto the coastline....the other was of people drinking and hanging out on Burbon Street seemingly careless as to the fact that the worst hurricane to threaten the U.S. since Camille in 1969 was just hours away.

And surely no one was complacent elsewhere, only in New Orleans. it's all the cities' fault because they're liberal and Democratic. Give us a break, Naso.

Federal, State, and Local government ALL messed up. Anyone who tried to make it a partisan issue is not informed of the situation.

The fact remains - regardless of whether you are a Bush-blamer, a Nagin-blamer, or a Blanco-blamer - the real responsibility lies with all of us who allowed New Oreleans to remain protected by a meager levee.  It is we who failed to demand that our officials act to protect the city long ago, and it is us who fail today to ensure that the city is protected in case it happens again.

Tell me, why shoudl we be spending huge amounts of money to save a city that can't possibly survive more than 100 years into the future anyway? It isn't even like Venice, which has historical architectural value. Tear down the defenses of New Orleans and encourage the people to leave.

So how do you go about doing this?

If people own property in New Orleans, they need to sell it before moving. So who buys? Someone else so they can live there? The government buys the land? Do you just give their land somewhere else? People have homes there and have lived there their whole life. Some don't want to move. Others can't afford to move.

The government (Corp of Engineers) built the sub-standard levees and they opened the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. Whether or not it is smart to live in New Orleans, had the levees not given out and the MRGO not been there, the flooding wouldn't have been nearly as bad. Even without Hurricanes there have been floods in several places through out the country in the past year.

Should we help people rebuild in California next time there is an Earthquake? Should we help people rebuild in Kansas or wherever there is another tornado? Should we help people rebuild in Florida after they were hit by several hurricanes the year before?

To address Don's point that we "allowed" and "failed to demand":
People down here were opposing the MRGO before it was opened, but because the economic boost it was supposed to bring to the area (and never did) it was opened and remained opened and the salt water from the gulf allowed it to grow wider. People complained and no one listed. It took Katrina to get people to listen.

[jokerman]

My support is behind Nagin.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Why is this failed Bush supporter being talked about so much for higher office?

[Henrykrinkle]

It isn't even like Venice, which has historical architectural value.

You've obviously never been to New Orleans, have you? That's probably one of the most laughable statements I've ever read on this forum.

[Sam Spade]

It isn't even like Venice, which has historical architectural value.

You've obviously never been to New Orleans, have you? That's probably one of the most laughable statements I've ever read on this forum.

That is a pretty laughable statement, I agree.  New Orleans has some of the best examples of French/Spanish architecture from the late-18th and early 19th century in North America.

Still, I have long thought that in an attempt to save the historical areas of the city that are clearly above sea level from sinking any further, Louisiana should create some type of large retaining lake (like Lake Ponchatrian) in those areas of New Orleans that are extremely low-lying, like the 9th ward.  There's pretty much nothing of historical value there.