Posted on 09/01/2005 9:31:38 AM PDT by InvisibleChurch
Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005 10:52 a.m. EDT Teary Gov. Kathleen Blanco 'Overwhelmed'
The performance of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco in the first days after the Katrina disaster has some wondering whether she's up to the daunting task of guiding her state as its largest city struggles to recover.
Blanco "has come across as a nice person," noted the New York Post's Deborah Orin, but she seems "overwhelmed instead of inspiring."
Gov. Blanco did little to reassure observers during a press conference on Tuesday, when she seemed on the verge of bursting into tears. "The magnitude of the situation is untenable," she told reporters. "It's just heartbreaking."
The next day Blanco told ABC's "Good Morning America": "This whole situation is totally overwhelming."
Louisiana Democrats are putting the best face possible on Blanco's performance.
"She's obviously affected tremendously by the emotional impact of the devastation," former Sen. John Breaux told the Washington Post. "I think she's doing everything humanly possible to bring it together."
Asked whether Blanco sounded discouraged by the havoc wrought by Katrina, Breaux told the paper: "No, I think she was on top of it. But considering the circumstances, with a whole city underwater, it's hard to be calm, cool and collected."
Some compared the beleaguered governor to her Mississippi counterpart, Haley Barbour - who has so far offered a more reassuring presence.
Noted Orin: Gov. Barbour vowed early on to deal "aggressively and ruthlessly" with looters in his state.
Gov. Blanco, on the other hand, intitially suggested that stopping rampant looting in New Orleans wasn't a priority, telling reporters Tuesday: "We don’t like looters one bit, but first and foremost is search and rescue.”
As conditions continued to deteriorate, however, Blanco changed her tune, announcing late Wednesday: "We will restore law and order. What angers me the most is that disasters like this often bring out the worst in people. I will not tolerate this kind of behavior."
Sometimes people do stupid things . . . Like elect socialist Democrat twits for governors . . .
Hey the Chicago cow at least tried to stave off the subsequent disaster. Even if the bovine's attempt was an "udder" failure. Blanco has no excuse.
She's the Jimmy Carter of Governors.
Is there a reporter, or blogger behind the scenes in this mess?
If so, I would like to know what is really going on and who down there is going to step up and start kicking a$$.
This calls for adult leadership, and I have to ask, where is it?
Is there not one politician in all of LA who has the stones to do what must be done?
Yikes, she doesn't seem to have a handle on the job.
**If so, I would like to know what is really going on and who down there is going to step up and start kicking a$$.**
Like I said above:
"Give 'em ZELL!!!!!!!!!"
What???? Why the heck is Harry Shearer from Spinal Tap talking about hurricanes?
Amen...my boy!
haha...you're right! We need a REAL woman..like ____________. Fill in the blank. Let's see. Condi Rick, Laura Ingram....there are MANY conservative women who could take this job on.
You got that right
I miss Ronald Reagan and Thatcher - they were the dynamic duo of the Western World
Condi Rick??
Wheres the mayor of New Orleans? He disappeared.
"Remember when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?..." - Bluto
I knew this is the WRONG person
for the job as gov, within
hours after the hurricane
passed.
Sorry about that!! Condi RICE. My typo!
The GOP is good at being inept, but not in that case. And to give in to racist (Democrat) attitudes is not acceptable. I wonder if Loosianan Cajun good ol' boys might think that the dark fella with the funny name might not have been so bad after all. But Jindal's in DC now. Better for all of us.
Clarence Ray Nagin (born June 11, 1956 in New Orleans) is the Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana. He was elected in May 2002, succeeding Marc Morial.
Nagin received a B.S. degree in accounting from Tuskegee University in 1978 and an M.B.A. degree from Tulane University in 1994. He and his wife, Seletha Smith Nagin, have three children: Jeremy, Jarin, and Tianna.
Before his election, Nagin was a member of the United States Republican Party and had little political experience; he was a vice president and general manager at Cox Communications, a cable communications company and subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. Nagin did give donations periodically to candidates, namely President George W. Bush and former Republican U.S. Representative Billy Tauzin in 1999 and 2000, while also giving to Democratic U.S. Senators John Breaux and J. Bennett Johnston earlier in the decade.
Days before filing for the New Orleans Mayoral race in February 2002, Nagin switched his party registration to the United States Democratic Party, presumably in order to have a chance at any success in the race in heavily Democratic New Orleans. Shortly before the primary election, an endorsement praising Nagin as a reformer by Gambit Magazine gave him crucial momentum that would carry through for the primary election and runoff. In the first round of the crowded mayoral election in February 2002, Nagin received first place with 29% of the vote, against such opponents as Police Chief Richard Pennington, State Senator Paulette Irons, City Councilman Troy Carter and others. In the runoff with Pennington in May 2002, Nagin won with 59% of the vote. His campaign was largely self-financed.
Shortly after taking office, Nagin launched an anti-corruption campaign within city government, which included crackdowns on the city's Taxicab Bureau and Utilities Department. Nagin also made a controversial endorsement of current Republican U.S. Representative Bobby Jindal in the 2003 Louisiana Gubernatorial Runoff over current Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco, and only reluctantly endorsed U.S. Senator John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential race.
On August 28, 2005, Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina approached the Gulf Coast of the United States. Katrina made landfall on August 29, causing severe damage to most parts of New Orleans.
On August 31, Nagin estimated that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people died as a result of the hurricane, one of the nation's worst ever.
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