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Gordon Russell: Nagin's Role In New Orleans' Evacuation Criticized

Managing what is being called the biggest natural disaster in American history is a thankless task certain to invite criticism.

And Mayor Ray Nagin has certainly had his share since Hurricane Katrina came ashore.

On a recent national TV appearance, presidential historian and Tulane professor Douglas Brinkley called him "a very lame, ineffectual, wrong-headed mayor for this time," adding for good measure that Nagin has "no leadership abilities" and suggesting that some of his failures in the wake of the storm were "criminal."

Allan Katz, a consultant and talk-show host whose treatment of local politicos leans toward the adoring, called Nagin's performance "abysmal." Political columnist Clancy DuBos, an unabashed Nagin fan in pre-Katrina days, joined the pile-on, saying: "This is no time for quirkiness, this is no time for amateurism. We need a plan and we need a vision. And Nagin doesn't have either one right now."

National media outlets, from CNN to The New York Times, also have questioned Nagin's leadership, comparing his performance unfavorably with that of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

But others are more charitable, and some downright admiring. They note that the performance of federal and state governments -- both in command of far more resources than impoverished New Orleans -- left much to be desired.

The mandatory evacuation Nagin ordered the day before Hurricane Katrina made landfall, while still the subject of considerable controversy, was a rousing success in the view of some analysts. Political scientist Susan Howell of the University of New Orleans noted that the loss of life could have been much higher, as many models predicted, were it not for Nagin's insistence that people who could leave do so. In the end, about 80 percent of the city's residents left in advance of the storm.

Other observers, including Bishop Paul Morton, head of the city's largest church and often a bitter opponent of the mayor, point to Nagin's compassion for the city -- in particular, his now-famous radio tirade about the slow pace of the state and federal relief effort -- as a high point of his stewardship.

Some of Nagin's other proposals, ranging from the fits-and-starts effort to repopulate the city and the formation of a business-dominated rebuilding commission, have drawn more mixed reviews.

On this much, there is some agreement: Katrina was too much for any government figure to handle alone, least of all the mayor of a poor, underfunded city such as New Orleans. Even had Nagin's management been flawless, he would likely be feeling the ire of residents who have lost their homes, jobs and, in some cases, their loved ones.

In that, Nagin, like his fellow New Orleanians, is a victim of circumstances.

[Editor's Note: This is a very short excerpt from a much longer article. Please see the Times-Picayune for more.]