New Orleans mayor falls apart in crisis

In the aftermath of the Twin Towers attacks in New York City, mayor Rudy Giuliani stood tall. His confident, take-charge presence made America feel that there was some semblence of control following the terrorist attacks, particularly when none of us knew whether or not further attacks were forthcoming. His leadership during our national crisis vaulted him into near legendary status as the go-to man. So much so, in fact, that there are calls for him to lead the hurricane relief effort nearly 4 years to the day after 9/11.

Contrast this with New Orleans Democrat mayor C. Ray Nagin, who fell apart like a cheap suit when the heat was on:

For many reasons, he was politically and emotionally out of control at a moment that could define his legacy as a leader during the nation's worst natural disaster.

Mayor Nagin's tear-filled tirade is the antithesis of the behavior of rock-solid Giuliani when the chips were down:

"Don't tell me 40,000 people are coming here," he said. "They're not here. It's too doggone late. Now get off your a***s and do something, and let's fix the biggest g*****n crisis in the history of this country."

Mayor Nagin was not up to the task. He and Louisiana Democrat Gov. Kathleen Blanco were full of vitriol and rhetoric, but as front line leaders they let their people down. They allowed looting to get out of control, they clearly had no disaster plan despite the obvious deficiencies in the city infrastructure, and they fell down when their people needed them most.

Don't let the Louisiana leaders deflect the blame to the national government. We've already seen the race-baiters, hucksters, and left-wing rabble rousers try to put this mess on the president's plate. No such luck. The buck stops with the Democrat mayor Nagin and the Democrat governor Blanco.