Nagin's Running For Something ... Not From It?

Good news for New Orleans might be very, very bad news for Louisiana or perhaps Congress.

The good news is that Ray Nagin, a man who showed almost immeasurable incompetence -- incompetence only overshadowed by unbelievable blame-shifting -- leading up to and following Katrina, is barred from running for mayor of New Orleans again.

The bad news is that since he was elected to his last term as mayor, Nagin's nincompoops have ponied up $500,000 in Nagin campaign contributions ... for what?

AP (in the link above) went hunting for someone to explain all this and found a guy with a great name (Pearson Cross) and a not too credible position (assistant political science professor at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette). Oh well, maybe the pickin' are still slim in bayou-land.

"Ray Nagin wanted to be re-elected in some sense as a vindication of his role in Katrina and the aftermath: 'See, I'm the leader, I did a good job and am doing a good job. But New Orleans has major problems and is coming along very slowly. My sense is, being the congressman from the 2nd District or governor would be very attractive."

The 2nd District, as you may recall, currently belongs to William "Icebox" Jefferson. Perhaps Nagin thinks it'll be changing hands soon.

Nagin also might run for governor, since Kathleen Blanco's announced she's not going to enter a doomed re-election campaign. AP helpfully points out that Louisiana has had only one black governor -- appointed, not elected -- and Nagin's "chocolate" remark about New Orleans is not remembered fondly around the state.

Like OJ Simpson, Nagin is a black only blacks can love. So I'm guessing we forget Gov. Nagin and get used to the sound of Rep. Nagin (D-Unbelievable).

Art: I'm Not Chocolate