[StBernard] Sen. Walter Boasso Considering Run for Governor?

[Westley Annis]

Few critics ready to take governor's job 


By MICHELLE MILLHOLLON
mmillhollon at theadvocate.com 
Advocate staff writer 

Plenty of people are saying Gov. Kathleen Blanco performed poorly in the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Few are lining up to succeed her in two
years and assume the awesome task of rebuilding the storm-shattered state.
"It was a hard job before the storm," state Treasurer John Kennedy said.
"It's twice as hard as it was before the storm."

Halfway into her term, Blanco has said publicly she plans to seek another
one in 2007.

Cross Buddy Roemer off the list of possible challengers.

"I'm just interested as a citizen," the former governor said recently.

"I'm 62. I had heart bypass surgery some five months ago."

State Sen. Cleo Fields, who lost to Mike Foster in the runoff for governor
in 1995, does not plan to seek the position. "I'm not interested in the
job," Fields said.

Kennedy also is a "no" although he sought the job for a while in 2003.

"I'm going to run for re-election," he said. "I like being state treasurer.
I plan on doing the job until people decide they don't want me."

Sen. Walter Boasso, R-Arabi, is a "maybe," which puts him in the ranks of
other political figures who are hesitant about declaring whether they will
challenge Blanco.

"I never rule out anything," Boasso said.

"My whole life has been a rollercoaster of ups and downs."

As Roemer put it, the job of governor is difficult in the best of the times,
but Katrina is turning it into the role of a lifetime.

There is a region to rebuild, hundreds of thousands of shattered lives to
set to right and an obliterated economy to repair.

"Dr. (Martin Luther) King (Jr.) said, and it's a great quote, the measure of
a great leader isn't where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,
but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy," Fields said. "It
takes a real leader to lead when things are not well."

Sen. Lydia Jackson, D-Shreveport, looks at it a different way.

"It's a great laboratory experiment," Jackson said of leading a state with
such diminished resources.

Performing the experiment well could put a politician on a path toward the
White House, something no Louisianian has managed to do since Zachary Taylor
in 1848. Call it a date with destiny.

"Every now and then you get a chance to make a huge difference," former
Insurance Commissioner Jim Brown said.

"Those who really have leadership ability and thrive on vision, they'll
never have a greater opportunity."

According to Brown, former Sen. John Breaux, Sen David Vitter, R-La.; Rep.
Bobby Jindal, R-Kenner; and Public Service Commission member Foster Campbell
are leading the crop of possible contenders.

It is a role Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, admits he wishes he could
have in order to renew the Louisiana spirit and bring people home.

"If I thought I could get the position, yes, I would want it," Richmond
said, however, "Numbers and history show that a black can't win statewide."

Boasso sees it as a chance to undo the wrongs of the past, but warns it will
be painful to close universities, slash spending and get rid of the extras
that now are luxuries the state cannot afford.

With the pain comes salve for the politician who steps up to the plate, a
chance to be a visionary.

"It will be a serious race," Roemer predicted. "My prayer is that it will be
filled with ideas and innovation and, to use a cliché, thinking outside the
box."

Louisiana native James Carville, who advised former President Clinton, is
not as quick as some to dismiss the idea of Blanco emerging as a strong
leader.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Blanco is not going to have a pretty good story
to tell when this is all over," Carville said. "Look at some of the things
she's done and is doing. She's doing a little bit better. Two years in
Louisiana politics is forever."

Michelle Millhollon covers the Governor's Office for The Advocate.