Mayors can’t hide, especially when there’s a crisis. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin may not emerge from Katrina’s wake on a first name basis with America, ala Rudy. But he did the best with what he had – mostly his mouth.
Katrina hits. Nagin has few resources, but made a tough choice. Here’s how he described it (link to full transcript):
“You know the reason why the looters got out of control? Because we had most of our resources saving people, thousands of people that were stuck in attics, man, old ladies. When you pull off the doggone ventilator vent and you look down there and they’re standing in there in water up to their freaking necks.
“And they don’t have a clue what’s going on down here. They flew down here one time two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters, all kind of goddamn—excuse my French everybody in America, but I am pissed…
“I told him (President Bush) we had an incredible crisis here and that his flying over in Air Force One does not do it justice.”
Nagin was a cable company executive before being elected Mayor in 2002. He’s got guts. He opened City Hall records to the FBI and invited them to arrest corrupt officials.
Let’s hope New Orleans and Nagin get a chance to come back.
Here are some links, if you want to help:
Red Cross (link)
Catholic Charities USA (link)
Craig’s List – to offer housing and transportation (link)
Thanks
Thanks for your comments last week that helped Tom and me prepare for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group panel discussion (link). We referenced some of your opinions and ideas.
San Jose Inside was mentioned frequently and not just by us. Moderator Carl Guardino referred to the site as a good source of information and intelligent commentary. He must be reading on the days we have guest bloggers.
Glad to know that Carl Guardino reads SJI.
Maybe he could have his staff write something for him to post as a guest blog.
Nagin is a complete failure – screaming like a stuck pig in hopes that by doing so he can pin the blame somewhere else.
Why were thousands of schoolbuses parked in nice, neat (flooded) rows when they could have been used to evacuate the city?
Why did Bush, the Governor, and the NWS have to beg Nagin to evacuate his city? Why did the mayor wait so long?
Why did the mayor dump all those people at the superdome without providing security?
From a previous NO hurricane…
“When Georges appeared headed for New Orleans, the Superdome was opened as a shelter and an estimated 14,000 people poured in. But there were problems, including theft and vandalism, and people were cooped up in the Superdome for days. Georges again showed the vulnerability of New Orleans to hurricanes”
*All* the risks and the resulting tragedies were well known in advance and could have been averted had the state and local government (all democrat controlled) been prepared. It is their job to be the *first responders*.
For Nagin, Blanco, the media, and the left to try and pin this on Bush and portray this as a race issue is disgusting.
But then why should we be surprised? The left and the ‘mainstream’ media exploiting a national tragedy to score political points via the race card? Shocking!
BTW, your man Unkie Howard has been doing yeoman’s work shouting racism and classism to anyone in earshot – you must be proud.
Ah, so the tragic mishandling of Katrina is all part of the the leftist media cabal. Thanks for setting us straight, Novice. The fact the W cut major funding for flood control, emergency services, etc. has nothing to do with the epic mismanagement of this disaster, does it? Certainly state and local officials deserve some of the blame, but you don’t seriously think that W didn’t help to royally screw this up as well, do you? The fact that W and his gang ignored the reports of pending disaster, as they do with most things that have anything to do with science. Did you ever think that maybe your boy is the incompetent bufoon that a majority of the country think he is and it has nothing to do with the “left and mainstream media” or even your favorite propagand network, Fox?
Florida has been hit with 6 hurricanes in 13 months and numerous hurricanes before that. Same FEMA, same federal gov’t.
So what’s different?
Florida learned from Andrew in the 90s and made an effort to prepare.
Louisiana very well knew the score, and for whatever reason decided not to adequately prepare, and here we are.
BTW I only get basic cable. So I watch DeutscheWorld news which isn’t bad – it’s surprisingly much less biased than ABCCBSNBCCNNMSNBCCNBCKRONKPIXKNTVKTVUKGO.
Florida didn’t have W cut the Federal money for flood control. That’s one difference. Oh yeah, the other difference is HIS BROTHER IS THE GOVERNOR!!
thank god. I hope this POS goes BK. Take down that downtown eyesore
an incompetent opportunist
Watchdog – you inadvertently nailed it.
Who would you rather have as governor before, during, and after Katrina? Blanco or Jeb Bush?
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2005/09/10/m1a_response_0910.html
I’m not saying FEMA couldn’t have done this thing or that thing better – but attempting to cast the Federal gov’t as the villain in this tragedy is simply a dog that won’t hunt.
Louisiana is paying a heavy price for the incompetence and negligence of their state and local governments.
All of this begs the question: How would Ron Gonzales have handled such a crisis?
Nah…let’s not go there…
The point, which you missed, is how the Bushies always take care of their own. The rest of us better learn how to swim.
Dear San Jose:
Re: Mayor Nagin-
Did anybody see Nagin on Meet The Press when Tim Russert asked him why the city had not used the school buses to evacuate people (as planned)? He said that this question would be “debated” by others in the future.
The guy’s a game show host.
Just a thought, maybe San Jose could offer to send its redevelopment agency to New Orleans to help rebuild! (It would get them out of our hair).
Pete Campbell
Mal Content:
Gonzo would get together with Guerra, Borsdorf and Doyle and put together a 57 page denial that a crisis exists.