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Katrina e-mails show Blanco PR worries
CNN ^ | 12/12/2005 | AP

Posted on 12/12/2005 7:28:30 PM PST by devane617

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Trying to avoid a public relations disaster, aides to Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco fretted over her not appearing in charge after Hurricane Katrina hit, even worrying about her clothing, documents released Monday show. Thirteen pages of e-mails sent in the immediate days after the August 29 storm also reflect the Blanco administration's concerns over race relations -- specifically, the number of black victims leaving Louisiana to find shelter. A Blanco spokeswoman dismissed the race issue as the concern of just one staffer and said e-mails were plucked from among an estimated 100,000 documents -- on everything from attire to how to fix the levees -- that the governor gave to a special House committee investigating the government's response to Katrina.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Louisiana
KEYWORDS: blanco; katrina; la
Very interesting...
1 posted on 12/12/2005 7:28:31 PM PST by devane617
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To: devane617

CNN finally found out about this?


2 posted on 12/12/2005 7:30:55 PM PST by digger48
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To: devane617
even worrying about her clothing,

Now that's leadership!

3 posted on 12/12/2005 7:32:20 PM PST by InvisibleChurch (The search for someone to blame is always successful. - Robert Half)
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To: digger48
CNN can't spin it all away.

Gee...that's too bad.

4 posted on 12/12/2005 7:32:58 PM PST by ncountylee (Dead terrorists smell like victory)
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To: devane617
"Gov. Blanco might dress down a bit and look like she has rolled up her sleeves," press consultant Kim Fuller of Witt Associates wrote in a September 4 e-mail to aides, including Mann and Kopplin. "I have some great Liz Claiborne sports clothes that look kind of Eddie Bauer, but with class, but would bring her down to level of getting to work."

"She would look like a woman, but show she is MOVING MOUNTAINS," Fuller wrote.

Hee, hee. That worked, yup.

5 posted on 12/12/2005 7:33:16 PM PST by Brilliant
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To: devane617
"The e-mails were distributed by Republican aides to the committee. Blanco is a Democrat."

Nice touch, huh?

6 posted on 12/12/2005 7:33:43 PM PST by digger48
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To: devane617
"You send that many black folks out of state, we will have a perception problem," Blanco assistant chief of staff Johnny Anderson wrote in a September 2 e-mail.

"Word is already that we are only sending blacks out of this state," Anderson wrote. "We are make (sic) a strategic error. FEMA will not have to answer to the people, we will."

Apparently, the only problem with sending "that many black folks out of state" is the "perception."

7 posted on 12/12/2005 7:36:23 PM PST by Brilliant
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To: digger48

Funny how they never wrote "Though the people of New Orleans claimed a Republican president abandoned them, their state and local governments, which were responsible for the evacuation and first response, are Democrats."


8 posted on 12/12/2005 7:37:41 PM PST by Darkwolf377 (An agnostic who never, ever says "Happy Holidays")
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To: devane617
She said the governor was focused on search and rescue, and getting as much federal assistance as possible.

Ought to get her to say that under oath. It seems to me that Blanco was worried about her image more than anything.

9 posted on 12/12/2005 7:38:09 PM PST by Brilliant
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To: ncountylee

Actually a pretty damning article, suprisingly


10 posted on 12/12/2005 7:38:21 PM PST by digger48
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To: Brilliant

It's gonna be fun to watch her testify.

Anybody on our side of the committee got any balls. Betcha they could make her cry with a couple of loaded questions.

Which Committee is it?


11 posted on 12/12/2005 7:41:26 PM PST by digger48
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To: Brilliant

Never mind, "House panel on Katrina"


12 posted on 12/12/2005 7:42:47 PM PST by digger48
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To: devane617

These get released after the other ones pointing fingers at everyone else. Funny how that works. Make your agenda driven point in the main news cycle. Tell the other half of the story or even the truth at a later date when the furor has passed.


13 posted on 12/12/2005 7:43:07 PM PST by satchmodog9 ( Seventy million spent on the lefts Christmas present and all they got was a Scooter)
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To: devane617

Rat leadership...


14 posted on 12/12/2005 7:48:38 PM PST by yldstrk (My heros have always been cowboys-Reagan and Bush)
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To: devane617

Anyone who accepts a job to make Blanco look good is guilty of fraud.


15 posted on 12/12/2005 7:51:59 PM PST by RouxStir (Peaceful Muslim?.....The Ultimate Oxymoron.)
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To: digger48

I was thinking the same thing! This is very old news.


16 posted on 12/12/2005 7:53:28 PM PST by GoforBroke
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To: digger48
Actually a pretty damning article, suprisingly

Sounded like a lot of useless fluff to me.

The governor is a politician. Of course she has staff members who's job is to make sure she dresses to make the right impression.

To be honest making the right impression is part of leadership in a disaster where you're getting 24 hour news coverage.

The people need to get the impression that their leaders are competent and in charge.

I don't have a problem with all the emails about wardrobe and how to make the right impression.

My problem is that she didn't do her job competently.

She was not prepared to lead her state through such an emergency even though the state was particularly susceptible to such disasters, had several close calls in recent times, and she had several days of warning as well.

The media is always attacking on form, not function.

They criticize how people look and the impression they give others.

Then they cirticize them for trying to make the right impression.

However, they rarely look at the real failures.

17 posted on 12/12/2005 7:54:26 PM PST by untrained skeptic
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To: digger48
CNN finally found out about this?

The truth?
About a Democrat?
Being told by CNN?

Somebody at CNN must have decided that CNN needs to do something
really radical to avoid the fate of the ever-shrinking liberal
press.

Even if it means telling the truth about a fellow traveler.
18 posted on 12/12/2005 7:57:24 PM PST by VOA
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To: devane617

even worrying about her clothing,


----I would be worried about more important things, but while we are on the subject, she could use a makeover. LOL


19 posted on 12/12/2005 7:58:10 PM PST by WasDougsLamb (I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed man)
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To: untrained skeptic
All right, all right, I'll give you that. I shoulda said

Actually a pretty damning article suprisingly, for CNN

20 posted on 12/12/2005 8:01:43 PM PST by digger48
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To: untrained skeptic
The real story is she was fighting federalizing the national guard, and plainly did so for CYA political reasons. She directly impeded the federal effort and the emails are clear they were looking for ways to sell that politically. She and the national democrats like Mike McCurry who were advising her are MURDERERS. They let their own constituents die to play games with the Bush administration.

And by the way, last I heard she is withholding her emails which she sends on Blackberries belonging to her husband and a trooper. She deliberately doesn't have one of her own and says her husband's is "private." Subpoena them all! Blanco lied people died.

21 posted on 12/12/2005 8:12:50 PM PST by Williams
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To: digger48
Never mind, "House panel on Katrina"

Well, at least we don't have to worry about Senator Voinovich crying over his party's alleged failures or something RINO-ish like that.

We just get to watch the House Republicans fall all over themselves trying to suck up to the media by not going to hard on her. "Ma'am I am sorry the President, who is a member of my party, I am ashamed to say, let you down, here's another couple hundred billion. I feel your pain, ma'am."

The Dems and the MSM are desparate, I mean really f---ing desparate to sweep the Iraq elections off the front page, so some good DemocRAT Bush-bashing will be right up their alley. Then, you know the RINOs will have to join in to be sure that they get their face time.

22 posted on 12/12/2005 8:31:58 PM PST by GoBucks2002
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To: devane617
This must be the tip of some enormous iceberg, if CNN is talking about it.

Memo to Governor Blanco: Dress for Duress

To be sure to outshine all your foes --
Wear a wardrobe of Liz Claiborne clothes
Don a sweater by Bauer.
For a touch of raw power,
Put on waterproof boots with steel toes.

23 posted on 12/12/2005 9:27:49 PM PST by syriacus (People who seem "nutty" can STILL be dangerous bombers -- Edw. Leary firebombed NYC subway 1994)
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To: untrained skeptic
However, they (media) rarely look at the real failures.

They sure took a good close look at Michael Brown and his performance and they were smiling all the way to the presses. Michael Brown made some mistakes, but so did EVERYONE associated with this disaster. Mistakes were inevitable. Only Katrina could come out a winner. It burns me up the way he was raked through the coals for FEMA's part in the recovery effort. Fair is fair, do the same thing to Blanco and Nagin.

(Note to self: it will never happen)

24 posted on 12/13/2005 4:31:11 AM PST by REPANDPROUDOFIT
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To: devane617
Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin are to testify Wednesday in front of the House panel on Katrina.


25 posted on 12/13/2005 4:36:54 AM PST by maggief
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To: maggief

LOL...dont forget the Goobers and/or Junior Mints!


26 posted on 12/13/2005 11:37:26 AM PST by Windsong (Jesus Saves, but Buddha makes incremental backups)
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