Mayor Nagin is still spinning

Mayor Ray Nagin, who made a mess of his own city by not following his own plans for a category 3 hurricane, is in Jamaica this week blaming President Bush and racism.

The record shows that Nagin was not prepared for what everyone knew was coming and did not provide the needed leadership when he was needed.

The Jamaica Observer showcases his sorry performance:

"I think that if this (New Orleans) was Orange County, California or South Beach in Miami, I do think the response would have been different," Nagin said. "I think it's a combination of racial issues and a combination of class," the mayor added.

So I wrote the following letter to the newspaper:

Jamaica Observer, 11/24/05

Mayor Ray Nagin is making a transparent attempt to defend his lack of preparation and performance when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. 11/22/05 "Mayor Nagin blames racism, class bias for slow Katrina response"

FEMA responded in the following days because that's what it's supposed to do, not due to racism.

Everyone but him knows that FEMA is not the first responder. FEMA is intended to provide back-up support the day after and subsequent days. FEMA can't provide first response because people from Washington, DC or any other place in the US don't know the streets, alleys, power lines, sewers and levees of New Orleans. Mayor Nagin knows his city and has staff who know it inside out. He can plan for his city's unique needs that don't fit Cincinatti or Buffalo or Sacramento. FEMA can't do that. So FEMA sees what unfolds and responds after.

Nagin was supposed to have plans in place. He had nice plans - we saw them online a week later - but he didn't follow his own plans. His plans called for using all school buses to evacuate people. You can see the satellite photos of hundreds of those buses marooned by flood waters.

The lesson that Nagin just learned about being prepared was there for him to learn years before Katrina hit. In fact his web site said that the city was prepared. But he was not. And Governor Blanco did no better.

Nagin should stop looking for someone else to blame. He should look in the mirror.

I spent 15 days in Spanish Town and Kingston in 2001 and 2003 and look forward to returning.

Ron Hebron, Seattle, WA

Hat tip to Sweetness & Light who says that his Nagin's host Butch Steward is a casino operator who wants to expand his operations in New Orleans. And to The American Thinker.