« One Obvious Consequence Of A National Health Plan | Main | The 'Haditha Massacre' »

September 05, 2007

[Cue: Everly Brothers Music] Dre-ee-ee-ee-eem

....Dream Dream Dree-eem...

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin Said to Be Considering Run for Governor

Mayor Ray Nagin could be days away from announcing he will run for governor of Louisiana — a move many in this stricken city regard as preposterous.
If Nagin runs, he will do so on his stewardship of New Orleans. But this is a city in great distress two years after Hurricane Katrina, with large swaths still empty, an appalling murder rate and a painfully sluggish recovery. Nagin's disapproval rating stood at 65 percent in a recent poll.

"He's clearly seeing his election potential differently than most of Louisiana. Statewide, Ray Nagin is dead in the water," said G. Pearson Cross, an assistant professor of politics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. "One thing is clear: New Orleans has not had the forceful and dynamic leadership necessary to get recovery on the right track."

...But David Bell, a juvenile court judge and community leader in mostly black eastern New Orleans, said Nagin's efforts are often seen as incremental and misdirected. Bell alluded to Nagin's hiring of planner Ed Blakely as his recovery chief, and Blakely's promise of "cranes in the sky" that have yet to be seen.

"It's great to have large vision. But I think right now the public is more concerned about potholes, and the sewer lines, and the water lines," Bell said. "Those are the things that restore faith."


(That would be the same eastern New Orleans I wrote about.)

There's speculation that Nagin's surreal sense of self might be a calculated attempt to stay in Louisiana politics.
...Privately, some said they suspect Nagin knows he has little chance but wants to use the publicity to ensure a political future in Louisiana.

How sick, self-absorbed and deluded is that? Plus, with Louisiana politics the way it is, I'm not sure that there would be enough left of Mayor Noggin besides bleached bones. They're awful good at stripping the skin off people even when they have to make it up ~ it's a local art form. For instance, trying to derail Republican Rep. Bobby Jindal's run for the governorship, state Democrats have been at their tawdry, pond scummy best. Not content with darkening his facial tones in photos, they've made sure to refer to his given name in a sneering little piece of work...

Piyush (Bobby) Jindal has finally admitted to a partial divine revelation that he wants to be governor.

....Instead of Piyush praying for a decision to run for governor which everyone knows he’s made; he ought to pray for humility and maybe even a conscience.


...that makes sure all readers know his ethnicity without ever saying 'Indian' (But mention 'Obama' and 'madrassa' and...oh, wait. He's a Democrat.), as well as releasing an anti-Jindal commercial that, well, backfired spectacularly.
... So far, the campaign's biggest fireworks have come from a Democratic Party commercial that accused Jindal of insulting Protestant faiths in a decade-old article he wrote about Catholicism. The ad drew strong criticism, not just from Republicans but from a wide range of religious leaders and Democratic politicians, including Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu.

As a result of the party's misfire, Boasso and Campbell are going to have to launch their own attacks on Jindal if they hope to keep him below the magic 50-percent primary tally and force a runoff, said Bob Mann, who was communications director for Gov. Kathleen Blanco and now teaches at Louisiana State University.

"In some ways the Democratic Party has fouled the nest by firing off that really boneheaded attack on Jindal," Mann said. "If I were Boasso or Foster Campbell, I would do everything I could to separate myself from the party and just resign myself to the knowledge that I'm going to have to carry the negative attacks because the party is too inept to do it for me."


You're all gator bait in love and war. I think Nagin himself hands them the rusty scalpels for the evisceration.

However, if he steps down to run, maybe a real LEADER can step UP. Somebody to take control of that piteous mess. It might just be the silver lining New Orleans needs.

Hell. It can't get any worse.

Posted by tree hugging sister at September 5, 2007 11:58 AM

Comments

He'll win. No doubt about it.

Posted by: Mike Rentner at September 5, 2007 01:03 PM

When it comes to scummy politicians, sometimes the old ways are best.

Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at September 5, 2007 01:14 PM

If Nagin becomes governor, it's time to change the status of Louisianna from a state to a territory. Or maybe one big military base, to put Noggin under Federal jurisdiction.

Posted by: The_Real_JeffS at September 5, 2007 01:17 PM

Hmmmm.

Frankly I thought this was something from Scrappleface at first.

IMHO words simply aren't enough to describe my reaction. There simply are no words.

Posted by: memomachine at September 5, 2007 05:41 PM

I have a word: "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Posted by: Nightfly at September 6, 2007 07:55 AM

He didn't go to Baton Rouge to qualify. So, he won't be running. NOLA is still screwed though, some of the local races are a joke.

Posted by: roux at September 7, 2007 10:47 AM