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I just read your spot-on piece about the Coming Battle Over New Orleans. Sadly, I think the New Orleans Flood has destroyed Republicans in the eyes of many poor and black people around the country. Ken Mehlman’s extension of the olive branch to the NAACP is long-forgotten, the “September 10th” of racial reconciliation speeches. Whenever the GOP will try to outreach to Blacks, white and black Democratic leaders will say, “remember New Orleans!” The new battle cry of racial demagoguery will be even more effective than the Florida recount fiasco of 2000. Even though I think that the city and state (Democratic leaders of a predominately black city) stranded those innocent people at the SuperDome and Convention Center, the Republican party will be blamed for leaving poor blacks high and dry.
The only way I can see any hope is if Bush throws the whole weight of his administration toward rebuilding New Orleans into an even better city for these people who were obviously overlooked as everyone high-tailed it out of New Orleans. I don’t think it’ll happen and I’ll be sad to see GOP efforts fail while Democrats continue string black voters along.