Even a Puff Piece Can't Make Ray "Schoolbus" Nagin Look Good

One year post-Katrina, Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans, remains the utterly incompetent hack that he was when he was elected. In this Newsweek story, which is the journalistic equivalent of an attempted sloppy wet kiss, even the media bias in his favor exposes him for the useless politician he is. And because the idiots of New Orleans re-elected this fool after seeing his breathtaking incompetence on full display during Katrina and the aftermath, while no area deserves Katrina, my sympathy for those who sent Nagin back to office is non-existent. For a brief recap, let's recall the following:

1.) Political tone deafness to rival the Bush Administration (i.e., saying New Orleans is a "chocolate city" and "Let's be fair, after 5 years, New York still has a big hole in the ground."). And from the article, "About a month after Katrina, the city's movers and shakers met at a local restaurant, still serving on paper plates, to talk about New Orleans's future. "The mayor was there for three hours, table-hopping," recalls Douglas Ahlers, a local entrepreneur who became involved in city planning. "But instead of going around saying, 'What do you need? What are you going to do? How can we help?' it was as if it was just a regular Friday lunch in old New Orleans. I realized he wasn't working the issues, just glad-handing."

2.) Over a year later, the Ninth Ward, home of most of the idiots that re-elected him because he is black, still has no certifiable drinking water and lacks many basic services that it is actually the government's job to provide. By contrast, stores were already re-opening and businesses wanted to come to or back to New York within a week after 9/11 because of Giuliani's leadership and ability to get things done.

3.) You know it's bad when the aforementioned idiots, all of whom are as left-wing, Deomcrat/socialist, and government-dependent as anyone in America, are mad at you. This goes double when the complainers are ACORN...you may remember them as the left-wing outfit who had members that went to jail for attempting to buy votes in East St. Louis with crack cocaine and cigarettes during the 2004 election, and black pastors who are the local equivalent of Jesse Jackson...when those folks have turned on a black Democrat, it takes skill to be that useless and bad. Usually, the venom from these folks is reserved for all things and people who advocate personal responsibility, so when they take the time to attack one of their own, it must be bad.

I haven't even mentioned the buses that could've been used to get people out of the city but which were left in a parking lot and were submerged underwater, Nagin's failure to use or pursue any of the $100 billion appropriated by the feds for Katrina recovery already, or his race with Gov. Blanco for daft Louisiana politician of the new millenium. I'll just leave you with this little gem, but do read the whole thing:

"The people involved with Nagin's latest plan to rebuild New Orleans, his "100 Days Initiative," won't describe the organization's structure, not because they're required to keep it confidential, but because, they say, the structure exists mainly in Nagin's head." (sounds like John Kerry's imaginary Christmas in Cambodia --Ed.)