Nagin calls for better federal treatment, suggests Washingtonians come visit

DENVER -- The Republicans, in Rudy Giuliani, have their version of America's Mayor and now the Democrats, in New Orleans' Ray Nagin, apparently do, too. Or so he was introduced when he addressed Washington's delegation this morning.

Nagin, who gained national prominence for overseeing New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina tragedy, indicated that the type of leadership that occurred under the Bush administration during and after Katrina is exactly why the Democrats need to elect Barack Obama in the fall.

The mayor went after Bush for not investing enough time and effort in rebuilding the city. He claimed that much of the $126 billion dollars pledged to the city by the federal government went directly to "big companies with no bid contracts" instead of going directly toward building affordable housing that was important to lure back many of the displaced residents.

Another thing he took issue with was John McCain's recent efforts to distinguish himself from Bush on the Katrina response. Nagin said that John McCain has only been to New Orleans once since the hurricane while Barack Obama came down immediately after the storm and has spoken with Nagin dozens of times since.

By electing Obama, Nagin said, "We are going to make sure we don't have more of the Bush fly-bys when disaster happens."

In the meantime, with 75 percent of the residents now returned to their homes, Nagin encouraged Washingtonians to visit New Orleans.

"Creativity oozes out of the pavement of New Orleans," he said, and pointed out that it was the home of such musical greats as Mahalia Jackson, the Neville brothers, Lil' Wayne and the Cash Money rappers. But if food is more your thing, Nagin also strongly recommended people come by and "suck on a mud bug". Or, as they are known elsewhere, a crawfish.

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