Mayor Ray Nagin likes to talk about making New Orleans a "chocolate city." And if he wins the runoff on May 20th against Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, he will give the city more of the same leadership that failed during the Katrina disaster. According to Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, a fellow Democrat, he might not be cut out for another disaster like what we saw last year. Those views appear in a book that will be coming out in June, in where Blanco suggests Nagin was essentially suffering from a nervous breakdown. If true this would reinforce the belief, that existed just after the Katrina flooding, that the Mayor was inept in dealing with the tragedy. Since then Nagin has somehow created a image of being a courageous leader.

The truth is that both parties failed the people of Louisiana. Nagin deserves blame along with Blanco and Bush for the disastrous response to a natural disaster. Nagin now claims he has an evacuation plan. That's ironic since it was his failure to demand an evacuation last August that cost many New Orleaners their lives. And if another major storm hits New Orleans this coming hurricane season, which is expected to be worst than last year, will we see a better response this time around? Don't count on it.