Sunday, May 1, 2011
Mitch Landrieu on 60 Minutes: the video
Posted by Kevin Allman on Sun, May 1, 2011 at 7:23 PM
Tonight's 60 Minutes profile of Mayor Mitch Landrieu ("Mitch Landrieu's Big Easy Challenge") by correspondent Byron Pitts was about all you can hope for as a politician, or as a defender of New Orleans: the story hit on some of the city's trouble points (blight, the murder rate) before quickly moving on to a portrait of the city that could have been approved by the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau. The city looked beautiful, and Landrieu energetic; Pitts seemed amazed that one mayor could simultaneously be a spreadsheet wonk and a guy who likes to get out in the streets and be as much of a regular Joe — or, as the mayor calls himself, a "street rat" — as possible.
See what you think. (If the video below isn't showing up for you, go here to watch it.)
Comments (1)
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New Orleans has definitely suffered from tons of scapegoating. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say that the residents got what they deserved after Katrina and the levee failures yet you never hear these same people make such cruel statements about those who live in tornado alley, or in areas in the midwest that suffer flooding every other year or those who live in earthquake or fire prone areas.
And the fact is that about 1/2 of New Orleans is actually at or above sea level and has survived almost 300 years. How old is your city? Nor do we hear that the 85% to 90% evacuation rate during Katrina is considered very good by disaster experts. This is in spite of the fact that the New Orleans Airport, Amtrak, and Greyhound were all shut down before the mandatory evacuation. They said the town could not be rebuilt but the resiliency, initiative, and neighborly culture of the citizens have proven "them" wrong.
Paul Harris
Author, "Diary From the Dome, Reflections on Fear and Privilege During Katrina"
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