Word on Nagin: He has a lot to answer for.

Bob Johnson has some questions about Mayor Ray Nagin and his appearance on the Meet the Press where he was caught carrying Bush and Rove's water. Turns out that Nagin didn't think the President had much to answer for in regards to helping the people of New Orleans, and didn't think that Governor Blanco had been up to the job.

Remember this?

Have we been punked?

Via Making Light.

Here's my comment I left on Bob's post (slightly edited):

I wondered when it was going to be time to investigate it further.

Bush et al's utterly stinking depravity and criminality doesn't exonerate Nagin, a lifelong Republican technocrat who defected to the Democrats days before filing for the Mayoral race in this solidly Democrat town (it's perhaps no surprise that despite Nagin's outburst Bush doesn't bear him any grudges – Nagin contributed to his campaign funds). His rebirth as Rebel With a Cause is too little, too late.

How much of the "looting" in New Orleans was due to the overreaction of Nagin? There sure was a lot of discussion about the lawlessness of the city and the orders for shoot to kill.

Here's what Lieut. General Russel Honoré, the military boss helping New Orleans had to say about the violent and riot-plagued city.

Honoré also says help should have come sooner. First responders hesitated, he says, because they were "afraid of big crowds of poor people." It was a case of "people believing the movie." But the city was not out of control, he concluded after delivering food and seeing the streets for himself. The subsequent forays by government forces may have reassured outsiders desperate that help get into the deluged city, but, says Honoré, they "just pissed off people inside the city. Imagine being rescued and having a fellow American point a gun at you. These are Americans. This is not Iraq."

Please go read the rest. at Pacific Views.