My admittedly UNEDUCATED guess is this:
In watching the white-knuckled contortions this woman goes through to retain her power, it strikes me that she does not want to relinquish her authority because along with it would go the authority to conduct criminal investigations.
I suspect that a close look at post-Katrina New Orleans will expose a rat's-nest of corruption that will be prosecuted, and that is her greatest fear.
That's JUST my guess. But I keep asking what her motivation might be for not ceding authority, and this makes the most sense to me.
You just might have hit it on the head.
Would she be desperate enough that she would allow people to die to prevent discovery of her malfeasance? I find it hard to imagine that a human being could be so callous, cold or just plain stupid to that level.
No, I don't think that it has anything to do with the rampant corruption that defines LA. I think it has to do with national politics and national elections. LA voted for Bush, but has elected all Democrat state officials, and Hillary is counting on Blanco to turn the state blue for 2008. Blanco wasn't up to the job.