If only he’d stopped with his prepared remarks — “and justice for all!” But no… He had to go off script at the end. All I could think about was how this speech would play to the nation, if indeed this gets any national media attention. Up until the end I thought it probably played pretty well — positive, determined, critical but not whiny. Then at the very end he went off script with a repeated refrain: “It’s not our fault!” That soundbite won’t play well in the heartland, or anywhere else for that matter.
Pronounce the dot.
I was starting to think I lost my mind when I posted “It’s not our fault.” WAPO and all the MSM seemed to overlook this part!
[…] update: others who picked up on the It’s Not Your Fault: B.Rox […]
Yep. My thoughts exactly. “Not my fault” — the epitome of whining.
You’re exactly right. I noticed this morning that the local media at least shortened the “not our fault” thing to not sound like an angry Rainman.
And is it just me or was the “and justice for all” refrain like he was channeling Zack de la Rocha (reminded me of Rage Against the Machine).
It doesn’t read too poorly in the newspaper. Of course the people who mock us lest the Federal Flood reflect b adly on the the current administration will find some way to use it to make the mayor and us look bad.
[…] Editor B: Nagin’s Speech Up until the end I thought it probably played pretty well — positive, determined, critical but […]
“Not our fault.” Mostly true. He would have to provide leadership to honestly be able to excepted blame. Almost all the progress in this area seems to have been the product of the neighborhoods, private groups, and non-governmental induviduals getting it done. His biggest claim to fame at this point is the contract with the new waste disposal group that cleans up the French Quater. Nothing to do with recovery, but that’s our Nagin. Sounds like a very special episode of “2 & 1/2 Men.” He hasn’t even worked with Gov. Me’Maw to get the situation with the buses and an effective evacuation plan in place for this season. Come on, the sheer panic that having everyone show up at the arena to wait for evac out of the city in an even small venue than both the convnetion center & the Dome will be sheer terror on a scale close to a Stepehen King novel. And why is he waiting on the same people he was complaining about A YEAR AGO to do what they couldn’t do the LAST time he complained–Help this City?
Does anyone know why he chose the D-Day museum? Of all the symbolically twisted choices… I believe he now includes in his actual script the choice to jump off the script and launch what he considers a “straight-talk” appeal.
Maybe he was channeling Belushi:
“Honest…I ran out of gas. I had a flat tire. I didn’t have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn’t come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locusts! It wasn’t my fault, I swear to god!”
He can’t do the eyebrow thing like Belushi can.
Although if he’d smash a beer bottle against his head to try to cheer me up, I might vote for him for guv.