Keep The New Orleans Brand Out There

My man Oyster from Your Right Hand Thief is on the story of Mayor Ray Nagin's chronic foot-in-mouth disease. Responding to a reporter's question about whether the city's high murder rate hurts tourism in NOLA, Nagin answered:

"Do I worry about it? Somewhat. It's not good for us, but it also keeps the New Orleans brand out there, and it keeps people thinking about our needs and what we need to bring this community back. So it is kind of a two-edged sword. Sure it hurts, but we have to keep working everyday to make the city better,"

To which Oyster replies:

Splendid. If we had fewer bullet-riddled young men bloodying the streets, the "New Orleans brand" might suffer. People around the country might be less sympathetic to our needs if we had a mayor and police chief who knew how to curtail the highest murder rate in the country.

Yo, Oyster!

Nagin spends a lot of time away from New Orleans doing fund-raising, instead of staying home and finding solutions to the problems in his city, of which he is the mayor. Fund-raising for what? A possible run for governor? That's all we need. Nagin using his "branding" expertise to "benefit" the whole state.

Many New Orleanians and lovers of New Orleans will be relieved when Nagin's term in office is over. But the reporters and bloggers will surely have much less material to work with. They might even have to scrounge for stories.