[StBernard] Washington Post Editorial

[Westley Annis]

<"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/13/AR20060113
01715_pf.html">
A Heck of a Place

Saturday, January 14, 2006; A22



NO, WE AREN'T making this up: When President Bush visited New Orleans this
week, he really did call it "a heck of a place to bring your family,"
deploying the same infamous turn of phrase he used in the middle of
Hurricane Katrina ("Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job") to praise his
feckless former emergency management boss. Never mind -- Mr. Bush's visit
provides a good moment to examine his administration's somewhat conflicted
attitude to the city since then.

Certainly the president, both behind the scenes and in public, has been
warmly supportive of the idea of rebuilding New Orleans. He has told city
politicians and advocates in private that he follows the reconstruction of
the Gulf Coast carefully, and they say he seems to understand the size of
the problem. In September, he swore to "do what it takes . . . stay as long
as it takes" to rebuild the city. This week, he seemed intent on spreading
optimism, calling New Orleans a "great place to have a convention or a great
place to visit." The White House

also helped broker congressional approval of a portion of reconstruction
money just before Christmas.

What the president has not done yet is commit himself publicly to any of the
plans that would ensure New Orleans's long-term survival. In particular, he
has kept silent about the legislation proposed by Rep. Richard H. Baker
(R-La.) that would create an agency mandated to buy the remains of flooded
homes, allowing their owners to pay back mortgages and relocate to drier
parts of the city. This kind of federal support would make it politically
possible for the New Orleans mayor, C. Ray Nagin (D), to push forward the
reconceived city he presented to city residents this week: A smaller and
better-integrated New Orleans, built on higher ground. Both Mr. Baker and
Mr. Nagin agree that lower, more flood-prone parts of the city could either
be redeveloped later, if levees are improved, or turned into wetlands and
parks.

It's a bold, unusual project, and it has the support of most Louisiana
politicians. But it needs outside support, especially White House support,
if it is to pass an easily distracted Congress. Mr. Bush didn't mention it
when he was in New Orleans this week, and has said very little that is
specific about the city's long-term future. Yet this bill, or something like
it, is what New Orleans needs to remain the "heck of a place" that the
president so admires.

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