Times-Pic Again Writes the President

The first Times-Picayune editoral addressed to the President ran on 4 September; one of its demands was that FEMA Chief Brown be fired. On the heels of his resignation, the paper writes again:

New Orleans, a crown jewel among American cities, is deeply stricken. What you are seeing today, Mr. President, is the aftermath of the worst, the most widespread disaster to befall an American city and its surroundings in the history of our country.

Such a catastrophe, Mr. President, calls for a commensurate response from you. It is not enough to have sent a massive deployment of troops. It is not enough to have visited three times. And, though we appreciate your intention, it is not enough to have removed the ineffectual head of FEMA from the scene.

The editors seem to be calling for a major reframing of how the city should be:

It also means a promise to do whatever it takes, whatever it costs, to restore Louisiana's coast. New Orleans cannot exist as a coastal city surrounded by levees so high they cast a shadow over our dwellings. It was once an inland river port, and it must be one once again.

The editors rightly recognize that the battle is both uphill and long.

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