Oh joy. New Orleans reelected Mayor Wonka.

And this in particular just boggles my mind:

The former business executive dismissed threats by some business people who said they would leave if Nagin remained in office.

"Business people are predators, and if the economic opportunities are here, they're going to stay. If not, they're going to leave," said Nagin, in his now famous vernacular style. "I don't worry about that stuff. I think there's enough interest around the country that we're going to attract top businesses. ...God bless them. I hope they stay, but if they don't, I'll send them a postcard."

Yeah, great attitude, Ray. Those businesses from around the country are just going to...er...flood in, knowing they're considered parasites and that the mayor won't lift a finger to encourage them or to improve the lousy-even-before-Katrina business climate of the city. Nice. I guess he expects the city to be able to suck off the fedgov's teat indefinitely.

Amusingly, given his attitude towards businesspeople, Nagin actually ran as...the guy with a business background:

But during the run-off campaign, Nagin actively courted conservative white voters by emphasizing his business background in contrast to Landrieu, a longtime politician and a member of Louisiana's equivalent to the Kennedy family.

(There's a Chappaquiddick joke there, but I'm not going to make it.)

This is really disappointing, if not unexpected.

UPDATE: Will Collier pretty well sums up my own thinking on this.

Posted by T.L. James on May 21, 2006 09:47 PM