A Darling of Social Conservatives Burns a Bridge
By Matt Friedeman
October 13, 2005

(AgapePress) - In the face of crisis, there is a way to act. The way not to act, of course, was exemplified by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco -- lack of preparedness, shifting blame, losing composure.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour was, in most respects, the precise opposite. He was "can-do," confident, compassionate, composed, a team player with the feds, promising his place on the Gulf Coast would soon be "bigger and better."

So remarkable was his performance that none too few political pundits started the "Haley for President" talk.

The religious right of Mississippi might differ.

The "better" of "bigger and better" was not going to be debated in Mississippi. Just like it was barely debated over a decade ago when the Mississippi Senate, without giving the public a say in the matter, decided by two votes (with only 80 percent of the Senate voting) to allow off-shore boats for casinos. The "boats," of course, were barely off-shore, and the gamblers actually got a sweetheart deal: while a county on the Gulf Coast or Mississippi River water could vote gambling in, they could never vote it out. (See related story) Story