Spin-Sliding Away

The effort of some politicians to salvage their careers after unmitigated disasters can bogle the mind. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco's testimony before Congress serves as a shining example of such head-scratching moments.

Reuters has the story here.

Observe the courage Ms. Blanco demonstrates as she passes the buck:

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco on Wednesday acknowledged problems in the state's response to Hurricane Katrina but said lives were saved and the state did the best it could with the resources it had.

In testimony before a U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating government response to the devastating storm, Blanco said more than 90 percent of people responded to state and local government evacuation calls. She said the death toll could have been much higher than 1,100 had the evacuation been less successful.

"We did the best we could with the assets we had," Blanco said.

But in sometime tense exchanges, Republican members of the panel criticized Louisiana officials for not calling a mandatory evacuation sooner, adding that if they had, more people might have survived.

If her performance was the best she could manage, Louisiana is poorly served, indeed. Let's recap, shall we?

For all of you who keep blaming Bush and trying to protect Blanco, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. Blanco got caught on tape by CNN admitting she did not ask for Federal Troops. When she didn't think the cameras were live, she made the startling admission to her press secretary.

AND that's not even the worst of it....

Why didn't she ask for federal troops? As Blanco explained to her press secretary as she wiped away tears, if troops came in, they would "put good people in jail."

She was more worried about the "poor looters" than she was the victims. This is outrageous.
SHE WEEPS AT THE THOUGHT TO THROWING LOOTERS IN JAIL!

Then she tells her press secretary, "I really need to call for the military, I mean, I really should have started that in the first call." BUSTED!

Need more evidence? Let's go to the video tape! She did the best that she could do with the assets she had, huh? Maybe, maybe not! Does Ms. Blanco understand that she has absolutely no credibility left, whatsoever? Does she truly believe that she can stage a political comeback. Does she honestly think that the state of Louisiana would in any way benefit from her inherent dishonesty and utterly gross incompetence? Does she imagine that Louisianians in general, and New Orleaneans in particular, would EVER give her an opportunity to bend them over the next broken levy?

Had she the kind of integrity that undergirds authentic leadership, she would have resigned from office and returned to the relative anonymity of private life. Her grotesque attempt to re-write history and pass the buck should shame even the worst demagogue from the Bayou. That she shows no such remorse is simply more evidence of exactly how self-serving a politician she truly is. Louisianians should laugh their tuckuses off when they cast their votes to toss her out of office, should she have the unmitigated gall to run for re-election.