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Other Columns by Doug Patton
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The Peter Principle was on display in New Orleans last week as Mayor Ray Nagin was reelected to another term of incompetence and corruption. And just in time for hurricane season, too.

Nagin, of course, is the bumbling whiner who couldn't even commandeer his city's own school buses to rescue people stranded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last summer. Instead, many of his constituents drowned as the flood waters covered them and the buses. Meanwhile, you will recall, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and the national news media joined Nagin in condemning the federal response to a local disaster.

His Honor, a former employee of Cox Communications with no previous experience in government prior to his election as mayor in 2002, was in over his head from the beginning of the tragedy, and many a commentator contrasted his job performance with that of Rudy Giuliani during the September 11, 2001, attack on New York City's World Trade Center towers.

It was almost as though Nagin was paralyzed even before Katrina slammed into his city.

On Friday, August 26, 2005, the National Hurricane Center predicted that Katrina could become a Category 4 storm, exceeding the design limits of the New Orleans levee system. Instead of ordering an evacuation, Nagin hesitated, concerned that the order would leave the city liable for losses suffered by hotels and other businesses. Rather, he simply told the population to "keep a close eye on the storm" and "be prepared to evacuate."

By the end of the next day, Saturday, August 27th, the mayor finally called for a "voluntary evacuation." Few of the most vulnerable left.

On Sunday, August 28, Katrina became a Category 4, as predicted, and Nagin finally ordered a mandatory evacuation. But it was too little, too late, and Nagin seemed to know it, because he declared the New Orleans Superdome a "shelter of last resort."

When Katrina hit the city and breached her levees on the 29th, approximately 90,000 people were still in the city, many of them stranded at the Superdome with no facilities to care for them.

The mayoral finger-pointing started almost immediately, much to the glee of the media. It was the governor's fault. It was FEMA's fault. But mostly, it was George Bush's fault. Nagin took to the airwaves, cursing and blaming anyone but his own incompetent administration.

Then came the outrageous, race-baiting statements that would have ended the career of any white politician in America. In October, at a town hall meeting to discuss the rebuilding of the city, Nagin said this to the crowd: "I can see in your eyes, you want to know, 'How do I take advantage of this incredible opportunity? How do I make sure New Orleans is not overrun with Mexican workers?'"

On January 16, 2006, in a speech at a Martin Luther King Day celebration, Nagin made several racist remarks, including his desire to keep New Orleans "a chocolate city." He said, "It will be an African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be."

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