Posted on 04/17/2006 7:37:03 AM PDT by ncountylee
NEW ORLEANS (AP) Who is Ray Nagin?
Is he the man New Orleanians believed they were electing mayor four years ago? The corporate executive with an MBA who wooed voters with his quick smile and promises of a more prosperous future?
Or is he the man on the radio after Hurricane Katrina, the one who melted down in a ranting tirade against state and federal officials?
Is he a racist, someone willing to exploit the uncomfortable black-and-white divide to win re-election with a "chocolate New Orleans?" Or is he the larger-than-life character calling for unity on billboards in the campaign that culminates in a city election Saturday?
New Orleanians have seen all these Nagins. Now they're trying to sort them out to determine who this man is, and whether they want him to serve a second term in a city left wildly different by the storm.
It's not easy. He says a lot of things, some of them inflammatory. He has ridden the alternating waves of hope and despair. He's a man who's constantly in the public eye, but he's not the kind of man who reveals himself easily.
Who is Ray Nagin?
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Ray could be adding loser to his list of titles soon.
could be???
"Will the real Ray Nagin please stand up?"
He can't. He's drunk and stoned and laying on the floor.
LOL Should have said...election loser.
Now THAT's a title I'd wager on him winning.
"Dis gonna be a chocolate city, so if you is a whitey, then you get outta the area!"
Don't count your chickens too soon. Nagin seems to have some appeal to those deep in denial. Those who want to believe that N.O. can be rebuilt as it was. The candidates who are offering more realistic plans for the future aren't polling too well.
It wouldn't surprise me to see Nagin get into the run-offs. The election this Saturday will reveal whether or not the people of N.O. are going to eventually pull themselves out of this mess or sink ever deeper into third world status.
I hope - he's already added "gun grabber" to the list.
Ray Nagin's purpose on this planet is to make Marion Barry look more like a civic leader. It's sorta like Barbra Boxer's job: Making Dianne Feinstein look a little like a Senator.
(Senatrix?)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.