New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin may run for Governor

[Henrykrinkle]

Nagin would be absolutely terrible as a governor, and I would be voting for Jindal without a doubt if he enters the race. He seems like he'd be a good lieutenant governor, because in Louisiana the LG spends most of his time promoting the state, but as far as actually being able to run a government, he's inept. His tendency to make outrageous statements every now and then is also a concern.

[Henrykrinkle]

[Nagin] seems like he'd be a good lieutenant governor, because in Louisiana the LG spends most of his time promoting the state

Wouldn't you need to zap most of the world with an amnesia gun in order to pull off putting the Mayor of New Orleans as the Lt. Governor?

I don't think the guy who made the Chocolate City comment is going to be accepted as an ambassador for Louisiana.

If there was an opening in the Lt. Gov job and using your criteria..

John Goodman for Lt. Governor!

Good call on John Goodman!   

You're definitely correct that Nagin's controversial remarks would hurt him in his capacity as Louisiana LG. If he hadn't made those remarks, however, I think the position would suit him.... Nagin simply doesn't belong in a traditional governmental position.

[Henrykrinkle]

The voters of Wasilla, Alaska, are somehow to blame that the voters of New Orleans, Louisiana twice elected this dipwad.

It wasn't until after Katrina that it became apparent that Nagin wasn't quite up to the task of being an effective mayor.  When he was first elected, in 2002, he was seen as a big change from the good ol boy mayors that N.O. traditionally elected.  In fact, in 2002, Nagin overwhelmingly won Lakeview, the only strongly Republican neighborhood of New Orleans, largly because he was seen as pro-buisness and not a tool of the previous Democratic administrations.

With all that being said, however, by 2006 it was inexcusable to re-elect him.

[Henrykrinkle]

It isn't even like Venice, which has historical architectural value.

You've obviously never been to New Orleans, have you? That's probably one of the most laughable statements I've ever read on this forum.

[Henrykrinkle]

Still, I have long thought that in an attempt to save the historical areas of the city that are clearly above sea level from sinking any further, Louisiana should create some type of large retaining lake (like Lake Ponchatrian) in those areas of New Orleans that are extremely low-lying, like the 9th ward.  There's pretty much nothing of historical value there.

There was a lot of talk about that idea during the first year or so after Katrina, in connection with a plan to shrink the "footprint" of New Orleans, but I think the idea has faded out. It's an interesting idea, but if the ninth ward were made into a retaining pond, the large majortiy of the city would actually still be flooded. There is a neighborhood in the middle of the city called Broadmoor that is known as the "bottom of the bowl," which I guess could be turned into a retaining pond, but Broadmoor is strongly on the rebound due to a strong neighborhood association. 

Ultimately, the more time that passes without any progress in some of the neighborhoods, the more likely it is that such an idea will come to fruition.  It certainly wouldn't surprise me.