D’oh!: See Noggin, Ray
When it rains, it pours.
(Anderson) COOPER: Sean, thanks for that.
It was here on the program that we expected to speak with Mayor Nagin, even though getting the mayor to come on the program is only a little easier than herding cats. When we — when he last appeared on 360, which was about four months ago, shortly before Hurricane Rita, he promised he would be back.
Since then, we have put in dozens of requests for interviews. He’s always declined them. Twice, he has agreed to appear, then canceled shortly before airtime, as he did tonight.
This morning, he agreed to appear. And, then, around 6:00 p.m., he confirmed he would appear. Then, shortly after, his office told us the mayor had an emergency to deal with. They said he would not be showing up.
Now, they didn’t say what the emergency was. And we’re not here to judge a person’s emergencies. But, last we checked, the mayor was eating dinner at a restaurant called Bourbon House on the corner of Bourbon Street.
And Sean Callebs is actually standing outside the restaurant right now.
Sean, is the mayor still inside having dinner?
CALLEBS: Well, as best we can tell, Anderson, he is, indeed.
I can you how this evening played out. After we got the call that the mayor was going to cancel the interview, we had a crew out here. Somebody went upstairs to the second floor in a private dining area. They saw the mayor greeting members of the Commission to Bring Back New Orleans.
Now, we had people out here the entire time. There are still a number of city vehicles out here. We went up a short while ago to check once again to see if Mayor Nagin was upstairs on the second floor. This time, those doors were shut, and the mayor’s press officer is standing out in front — Anderson.
COOPER: Well, tell her I — I left her a message as well. I would love to talk to her, when she gets a chance.
To your knowledge, are there any emergencies happening in Bourbon House right now?
CALLEBS: No.
This guy is the gift that keeps on giving.
He’s meeting with Jocelyn Elders. “Every child…a chocolate child…” But ye gods, by all that is sweet and innocent in the world, DO NOT OPEN THAT DOOR!
But, but, but……the mayor was hungry. Doesn’t that count for something?
Then, shortly after, his office told us the mayor had an emergency to deal with.
Had he gone on national TV, his office would have had an(other) emergency to deal with.
As I said over at Mr. Summers’ place: every time you feel bad about beatin’ up on the guy, he hands you a stick.
I think he’s been like the Honorary Grand Marshal of the Main Street Electrical Parade. It’s a great gig ~ being in charge of fantasy land ~ until all of a sudden they need someone to direct traffic. I don’t believe he signed on to do that. He’s completely OBE.
AND it’s really hard to duck the press in a city with 35 people.