Blowing up Nagan's remark.... (here we go folks!)

[annabanana]

When CBS's Byron Pitts points to flood-damaged cars in the street and a house washed partially into the street, the mayor shoots back. "That’s alright. You guys in New York can’t get a hole in the ground fixed and it’s five years later. So let’s be fair."

First, he probably shouldn't have said it. The only way that the damage done on 9/11 and the damage left by Katrina can be related is in the utter failure of the Bush administration in dealing with either.

Second, he is looking at a vast, destroyed region whose recovery is stymied as much by the scale of the devastation as by the criminal neglect being visited upon it, while the lack of progress at ground zero is due to juggling the emotional needs of the survivors and the money people, who care for nothing but their pockets.

THIRD - This remark of his will be THE item of discussion all weekend, and will color the "anniversary coverage" of the destruction of the Gulf Coast. There will be no shot of the destroyed homes and neighborhoods without the voiceover intimating that Nagin is somehow responsible for not having "done more" since hundreds of thousands of lives were upended forever.

[bluestateguy]

1. Nagins is the Mayor, He won the election, so everybody should shut up

No matter what anybody says, he's still the mayor, and people need to shut up and get over it, and support the Mayor because he's the Mayor.

[annabanana]

2. (not what I'm saying)

The coverage of this remark in NY is crappy..

"Mayor Bloomberg is not stooping to the level of "Raging Ray Nagan" - McGee Hickey, WCBS"

It will be covered like there's a legitimate comparison between the two situations, and the shrillness of the coverage will overshadow what could be necessary spotlighting of how much help the Gulf Coast still needs.

[Behind the Aegis]

3. Am I detecting sarcasm?

:evilgrin:

[bluestateguy]

8. Yes

I don't like the sarcasm icon. It;s too obvious.

[Swamp Rat]

4. Fuck Nagin!

He hasn't done a goddamn thing for New Orleans but breed divisiveness and spend MOST OF HIS TIME OUT OF STATE on speaking tours. WE THE PEOPLE have been doing all the work, though he is now taking credit for it.

[Balderdash]

16. Right on!

Couldn't have said it better. :thumbsup:

[Chipper Chat]

6. Hmm - isn't this exactly what Britney Spears said about Bush

in Farenheit 911?
(Only she was snapping gum while she said it)
Just sayin'

[Solo_in_MD]

15. Winning the election does not make him any better (or worse) as a mayor

Idiots win elections all the time, as we well know.

My own opinion is that he is that while he may have been fine prior to Katrina, he has not done well since the problems started.

[Behind the Aegis]

5. It is "Nagin."

He shouldn't have said what he did. It was insensitive and callous. However, it shouldn't be used as a "tool" against him.

[annabanana]

7. thanks, (too late to edit - oops)

[AndyA]

9. I'm sure Nagin is frustrated, tired, and angry about all the delays.

He probably shouldn't have made that comment, but I think he does have a point. What happened on 9/11 was a horror, but was limited to a rather small area of New York. Drive a few miles, and you'd never know anything really happened.

But New Orleans was completely devastated. You could drive for miles and miles and see nothing but devastation. New York was still a livable city after 9/11, with electricity, water, sewer service, telephone service, etc., to most of the city. New Orleans had none of those things, it was not able to support human life.

I think it would have been better if Nagin hadn't made that comment, as well as a few others over the past year that generated some criticism, but I can understand where those comments come from. He has to be very tired of the bull that he deals with from Washington every day. And in spite of everything, he gets up and goes forth to try to do good things for his city.

I think the man deserves a break from the criticism, and a little more help getting the city he loves put back together again. I know there are still a lot of former New Orleans residents who haven't been able to go back home.

[johnnie]

10. Sorry, in a way I agree with him

"Hole in the ground" might sound a little insensitive, but it seem to me like he is being made to look like he is completely at fault for what is going on in New Orleans right now. Typical for the bush administration to point their fingers at someone else for their incompetence.

He is right, it has been five years since the attacks and that area of New York is still a mess. How come Bloomberg hasn't fixed it up?

[cigsandcoffee]

11. Nagin is a moron.

He's all mouth and no action.

[Skelington]

12. His "chocolate city" comment tells all about him,

I think he is not to far from Bush, he lacks the ability to lead, so he tries to make up for it by spewing controversial BS in an attempt to spark some sort of support.

I don't think he is anything but in the way of Louisana's recovery.

[zbdent]

13. I pointed out that he shouldn't have used that example, but should have

pointed out that there are sections of New York where honest, law-abiding people probably would be afraid to go through in a tank, and Bloomberg/Giuliani did NOTHING to fix ...

[Beelzebud]

14. Naygin has time and time again proven himself to be a moron.

I refuse to support him because he attached a (D) to his title to win the election for mayor.

He's a fuck-up. Plain and simple.