Nagin PRAISES Bush in Victory Speech

[Mickalino]

Of course, the media is not going to spend much time, if any, on Nagin's words to the President,

"To President Bush, yeah, I want to thank you, Mr. President," Mr. Nagin said. "You and I have probably been the most vilified politicians in the country. But I want to thank you for moving that promise in Jackson Square forward. You are delivering on your promise, and I want to thank you for delivering for the citizens of New Orleans."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/us/21election.html

Nagin Re-elected as New Orleans Mayor

Mayor Ray Nagin thanked his supporters at the Marriott Hotel in New Orleans on Saturday night after winning re-election.

NEW ORLEANS, May 20 — C. Ray Nagin, the unpredictable mayor who charted a sometimes erratic course for his city through Hurricane Katrina and after, won a narrow re-election victory here Saturday.

Mr. Nagin, who will now lead the city through four crucial rebuilding years, fended off a strong challenge from Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, the scion of one of Louisiana's leading political families, in a vote that see-sawed all night. With all of the city's 442 precincts reporting, Mr. Nagin had 52 percent of the vote, while Mr. Landrieu received 48 percent.

Mr. Nagin, an African-American, won about 21 percent of the votes of whites, as well as over 80 percent of the black vote, according to a local elections analyst and political consultant, Greg Rigamer. Mr. Landrieu appeared to have lost black votes that he picked up in last month's primary, Mr. Rigamer said in an interview.

In claiming victory before his supporters tonight, Mr. Nagin said it was time to end the arguments over how to rebuild the city and to begin the arduous task. "It's time for this community to start the healing process," Mr. Nagin said, adding that he intended to continue working with his opponent.

Mr. Landrieu, who is white, called on residents in his concession speech to unite behind the mayor in rebuilding a city that has barely begun to recover from the flooding.

"I want to congratulate Mayor Nagin," Mr. Landrieu said. "This was a hard-fought campaign. The people of New Orleans conducted themselves in a dignified and thoughtful way."

Mr. Nagin raised far less money than Mr. Landrieu did and had little of the business and establishment support that helped him take office four years ago. But he appeared to benefit from a surge of votes cast by those displaced from the city by the hurricane, who were encouraged to vote with absentee ballots and at satellite polling stations set up around Louisiana.

Mr. Nagin retained the strong allegiance of black residents here, who are still in the majority, albeit more narrowly than before the hurricane. They did not blame him for missteps during the storm and afterwards, and many said they simply wanted the man who led the city during the last hurricane to continue leading it through future ones.

For months, Mr. Nagin played on that underlying loyalty and remade his political persona, going from a candidate originally favored by whites to one making an overt appeal to black unity and pride.

A speech in January in which he vowed that New Orleans would once again be a "chocolate city" outraged whites, but brought a smile to many black voters.

In addition, conservative whites who have long mistrusted the Landrieu family have consistently found Mr. Nagin's business background —he was a cable television company executive here — appealing.

Other white voters, in interviews, unfavorably contrasted Mr. Landrieu's stiff delivery with the mayor's resonant New Orleans colloquialisms. And during Mr. Nagin's administration, in notable contrast to those of his predecessors, there have been no patronage or other scandals.

In his victory speech, Mr. Nagin pointedly thanked President Bush, of whom he had previously spoken critically.

"To President Bush, yeah, I want to thank you, Mr. President," Mr. Nagin said. "You and I have probably been the most vilified politicians in the country. But I want to thank you for moving that promise in Jackson Square forward. You are delivering on your promise, and I want to thank you for delivering for the citizens of New Orleans."

Mr. Nagin came out on top in an April primary, but opponents collectively received a majority of the votes.

With Mr. Landrieu and Mr. Nagin taking the same muted position on the central issue facing this city — both refused to rule out rebuilding in any area, no matter how badly damaged by flooding — the race was about who was most competent to lead New Orleans out of its current predicament.

Mostly unspoken was the larger reality: that the federal money destined for the city, as much as $10 billion that would perhaps arrive by late summer, would have far more influence on its recovery than the actions of any mayor.

Mr. Landrieu accused Mr. Nagin of botching the recovery. He said he had failed to put into place a rebuilding plan and to get ruined cars, garbage and debris off the streets.

"This race only comes down to leadership, competence and performance," he said Thursday. "The rebuild's got to start sometime, and it's not happening."

Mr. Landrieu repeatedly suggested that the city's finances were in disorder and that New Orleans might need to declare bankruptcy, as some civic groups here have suggested.

Then, earlier this week, Mr. Nagin announced a $150 million loan from a consortium of banks, two French and two American, to keep the city going through next year — a deal that turned out not to have been fully completed.

Throughout the race, Mr. Nagin used his opponent's connections against him, suggesting that the election of Mr. Landrieu would perpetuate a family "dynasty." (Mr. Landrieu's father, Moon Landrieu, was the city's last white mayor, and his sister Mary is the senior United States senator from Louisiana.) He characterized Mr. Landrieu's record as sketchy, after 16 years in the Legislature and two as lieutenant governor.

"I think Mitch is a good guy," Mr. Nagin said Friday. "I love him to death. But he's not really an implementer."

The choice was not clear-cut, though, and residents often expressed confusion over it in the days leading up to the election. Above all, the election sometimes seemed merely a distraction in the context of a city still facing questions over its survival.

Still, as the election neared and increasingly began to seem like a referendum on the city's future, attention began to focus on it.

Saturday was a clear, hot day, and in the areas that did not flood during the hurricane, volunteers stood at street corners waving signs, while flatbed trucks and even a fire engine passed by packed with cheering supporters. In the flooded areas, piles of debris stood outside empty houses still showing last August's water line, and there was little life. The medians of the broad, silent boulevards in Mid-City were crowded with signs for the candidates.

Among voters on Saturday there was unease, dissatisfaction over the recovery, and — for those who had been displaced — a longing to return. Still, African-Americans voters for the most part said they were standing by Mr. Nagin.

"The city is starting to show a little progress, but only a little progress," said Idoshia Gordon, reciting the list of family members — cousins, siblings, aunts — who had lost houses to the hurricane.

Despite these reservations, she said was going to vote for Mr. Nagin. "I want to see him carry it through," she said. "I want him to finish it out."

Many whites were openly angry at the mayor.

"We've got to change the situation," said David Castillo after voting at Jesuit High School in Mid-City, where construction workers were busy on a building that was badly flooded. "It's a bad situation."

Others were more forgiving of the mayor, who voted at the school.

"You did everything you could, my darlin', " said Theresa Graffin, embracing Mr. Nagin, who buttonholed as many people as he could and appeared cool and collected.

Less than half of the city's population of 455,000 has returned, by most counts.

[visionary]

Wow, pretty interesting. Kind of nice to hear him say that.

[Sarge]

Guess since the dumbasses down there re-elected him, he needs to start doing what the people want..........kissing ass for Federal handouts