Louisiana Elections & Politics

Latest news and reports

Aaron Broussard calls for Jefferson sales-tax vote

by The Times-Picayune

Tuesday December 02, 2008, 3:56 PM

Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard is calling for a public vote on raising the local sales tax by one-quarter cent, to 9 percent, to improve law enforcement.

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New Orleans City Council passes $1.16 billion budget

by Bruce Eggler and Michelle Krupa, The Times Picayune

Tuesday December 02, 2008, 7:57 AM

After a daylong debate that threatened to set records for parliamentary confusion, the New Orleans City Council passed a 2009 operating budget that rejected Mayor Ray Nagin's call for a nearly $25 million property tax increase and put half the $41 million budget of the Sanitation Department in reserve, meaning it can't be spent until the council takes further action.

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Jefferson hopes to cash in on ties to Obama at polls

by Frank Donze, The Times-Picayune

Monday December 01, 2008, 10:29 PM

There's no reason to believe President-elect Barack Obama cares deeply about the outcome of Saturday's contest for the 2nd Congressional District seat where indicted incumbent William Jefferson faces three relatively unknown candidates.

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Bobby Jindal off to meet Barack Obama at Philadelphia governors' conference

by The Times-Picayune

Monday December 01, 2008, 3:14 PM

Gov. Bobby Jindal left for Philadelphia this afternoon to meet with President-elect Barack Obama, hope in hand of loosening federal spending for hurricane recovery projects in Louisiana.

"There are literally billions of dollars that can be pushed through the pipeline that have already been allocated by Congress that have yet to come to our communities, that have yet to come to our state," Jindal said before flying out of Louis Armstrong International Airport.

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Mayor Ray Nagin hopeful City Council will take the long view in passing the 2009 budget

by Michelle Krupa, The Times-Picayune

Monday December 01, 2008, 11:09 AM

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said today that while he had not seen a draft of the 2009 city budget that the City Council will take up during its 10 a.m. meeting, he hopes council members will take the long view as the cement the spending plan.

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Newcomer Joseph Cao hopes to unseat U.S. Rep. William Jefferson

by Michelle Krupa, The Times-Picayune

Monday December 01, 2008, 9:20 AM

On paper, Anh "Joseph" Cao has an ideal life story for a political candidate.

Born in war-ravaged Vietnam, Cao fled to the United States when he was 8, learned English, earned degrees in physics and philosophy, and joined the Catholic seminary. When his views on how best to serve the poor changed, Cao went to law school, began a practice specializing in immigration, settled in Venetian Isles and started a family.

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Still no 'Louisiana cottages' built, despite deadline; FEMA official unfazed by slow progress

by Bill Barrow, The Times-Picayune

Monday December 01, 2008, 8:27 AM

A model Mississippi Katrina cottage.

BATON ROUGE -- Almost two years after the federal government promised Louisiana $74.5 million to build alternative post-disaster housing units, not a single one has been built. And now two deadlines are approaching, one that could force the state to seek extensions or risk losing unspent money.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency official who oversees the four-state Alternative Housing Pilot Program insists that he has no worries about whether Louisiana can meet a key September 2009 deadline to build "Louisiana Cottages" with its share of the $400 million program.

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Hillary Clinton nomination to Secretary of State post could be official today

by The Associated Press

Monday December 01, 2008, 7:54 AM

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama is filling his Cabinet at record speed, choosing loyal friends and one-time foes to guide his wartime foreign policy decisions. Obama plans to appear at a morning news conference Monday in Chicago to announce Democratic primary rival Hillary Rodham Clinton as his secretary of state and say that President George W. Bush's defense secretary, Robert Gates, is staying on.

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New Orleans City Council rejects property tax hike during budget hearing

by Bruce Eggler, The Times-Picayune

Monday December 01, 2008, 7:44 AM

The New Orleans City Council today made official its rejection of Mayor Ray Nagin's proposed 10-mill property tax increase, but many other decisions related to adoption of a balanced budget for 2009 have yet to be made.

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GOP sees Bobby Jindal as its own Obama, Washington Post says

by The Times-Picayune

Saturday November 29, 2008, 6:58 PM

A week after Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's Iowa visit, political junkies are still abuzz, wondering aloud about a possible Jindal presidential run in 2012.

In fact, it's only a matter of when, not if Jindal will occupy the White House, according to one pundit quoted Saturday in a story published online by the Washington Post.

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Lawyers for U.S. Rep. William Jefferson appealing to full 4th Circuit to have charges dropped

by Bruce Alpert, The Times-Picayune

Wednesday November 26, 2008, 2:47 PM

WASHINGTON - Citing constitutional issues of "exceptional importance," Rep. William Jefferson's attorneys Wednesday asked the full 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to consider dropping 14 of the 16 criminal charges pending against their client.

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LSU and VA to build joint medical campus in downtown New Orleans; VA expected to open by 2013

by Kate Moran, The Times-Picayune

Wednesday November 26, 2008, 7:21 AM

During a news conference short on suspense but high on political star power, Louisiana State University and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed Tuesday they intend to build their new teaching hospitals in downtown New Orleans.

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Bush pardons, commutations do not include Edwin Edwards

by The Associated Press

Tuesday November 25, 2008, 8:42 AM

WWL-TVWith razor-wire fences surrounding him, Edwin Edwards walks the yard in a Texas federal prison in October 2003.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President George W. Bush's latest list of pardons does not include several high-profile criminals, including former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards, who still hope the president will grant them clemency in his final weeks in office.

On Monday, Bush granted pardons to 14 individuals and commuted the prison sentences of two others whose misdeeds included dealing drugs, evading taxes, killing bald eagles or mishandling hazardous waste.

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U.S. Rep. William Jefferson's trial pushed back to 2009

by Bruce Alpert, The Times-Picayune

Tuesday November 25, 2008, 8:19 AM

WASHINGTON -- It's now official. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, won't go to trial this year on his 16-count corruption indictment.

That was confirmed last week when trial Judge T.S. Ellis III scheduled a status hearing in the case for Dec. 19, 17 days after the trial was slated to begin. The hearing notice was posted on the Web site of the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., on Monday.

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Former Zulu queen Desiree Rogers named White House social secretary

by Jonathan Tilove, The Times-Picayune

Tuesday November 25, 2008, 7:56 AM

Jennifer Zdon, The Times-PicayuneDesiree Rogers, daughter of late City Councilman Roy Glapion, was named White House social secretary Monday.

WASHINGTON -- Desiree Rogers, a former New Orleans Zulu queen and daughter of the late city councilman Roy Glapion Jr., was named incoming White House social secretary on Monday by President-elect Barack Obama.

In a statement Monday announcing the Rogers' appointment, Obama and wife Michelle highlighted Rogers' qualifications as one of Chicago's most high-powered executives, a former head of the Illinois Lottery, former president of the Chicago utility, Peoples Energy, and most recently president of social networking for Allstate Financial.

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Few in Louisiana have close ties to Obama

by Jonathan Tilove, The Times-Picayune

Monday November 24, 2008, 8:37 AM

WASHINGTON -- Are you an FOB? Friend of Barack? Someone who goes way back with President-elect Obama, who knew him when? Are you the person to go to when someone needs to get to the leader of the free world?

"I'm not the guy; I just raised a lot of money for him," said David Voelker, the New Orleans businessman who is chairman of the board of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. At $80,300, Voelker appears to have been Obama's top fundraiser in Louisiana.

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Behind public skirmishes, Nagin and City Council continue to battle over public information

by David Hammer, The Times-Picayune

Monday November 24, 2008, 7:41 AM

Ted Jackson / The Times-PicayuneMayor Ray Nagin answers questions from the City Council concerning the NOAH scandal in August.

A rhetorical rumble between City Councilwoman Stacy Head and Sanitation Director Veronica White has transfixed New Orleanians in recent days.

But beyond the City Hall spectacle -- the headlines and blogs, the comments about White's and Head's combative attitudes -- are more substantive questions about the City Council's right to review contracts, question city employees and scrutinize public records.

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Jindal draws big crowd in Iowa but skirts hot political issues

by Jan Moller, The Times-Picayune

Saturday November 22, 2008, 10:31 PM

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal introduced himself to Christian conservatives in this first-in-the-nation presidential-caucus state Saturday by talking up Louisiana's hurricane recovery efforts and emphasizing the central role of culture in rebuilding America.

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Former DA Harry Connick calls for the firing of Police Superintendent Warren Riley in letter to the editor

by Letters to the editor, The Times-Picayune

Friday November 21, 2008, 11:14 AM

Harry F. Connick

Below is a letter to the editor written by Former New Orleans District Attorney Harry F. Connick:

Re: "Lack of police report dooms cases," Page 1A, Nov. 20. Police Superintendent Warren Riley should be fired. And the district attorney should charge him with malfeasance.

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Who's in the running for top jobs in Obama administration? Read a comprehensive list

by The Associated List

Friday November 21, 2008, 10:07 AM

The Associated PressPresident-elect Barack Obama plans to nominate Clinton as secretary of state after Thanksgiving, an aide to his transition said Thursday.

It's Washington's favorite parlor game during a presidential transition: trying to figure out who'll land a top spot in the new administration. President-elect Barack Obama is weighing an array of Washington insiders and outsiders, including some Republicans, for Cabinet and other top positions, according to Democratic officials.

Here's a comprehensive list of those being considered for the top posts:

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New Orleans City Council backs privatization application for Armstrong International airport

by Bruce Eggler, The Times-Picayune

Friday November 21, 2008, 7:51 AM

Armstrong International in 2007

The idea of turning over management of Louis Armstrong International Airport to a private operator appears to be gaining steam, although the recent meltdown of the nation's credit markets has made the financial prospects for such a move, always uncertain, even harder to forecast.

The New Orleans Aviation Board voted this week to submit a preliminary application for privatization to the Federal Aviation Administration, and the New Orleans City Council endorsed that move Thursday.

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Marc Morial calls for increased urban initiatives under Obama

by Frank Donze, The Times-Picayune

Friday November 21, 2008, 7:44 AM

In a rare New Orleans appearance Thursday evening, former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial told a meeting of black dignitaries they should demand "an urban component" in every major piece of legislation that President-elect Barack Obama pushes.

The National Urban League president said he is optimistic about Obama's chances of success as the nation's first African-American chief executive, but that he will need continued strong political support from those who voted him into office.

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New Orleans City Council could vote today on new rules for demolitions in older neighborhoods

by Bruce Eggler, The Times-Picayune

Thursday November 20, 2008, 7:43 AM

The New Orleans City Council could vote today on a proposed ordinance intended to prevent unnecessary demolitions in many of the city's older neighborhoods.

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New Orleans City Council could vote today on new rules for demolitions in older neighborhoods

by Bruce Eggler, The Times-Picayune

Thursday November 20, 2008, 7:43 AM

The New Orleans City Council could vote today on a proposed ordinance intended to prevent unnecessary demolitions in many of the city's older neighborhoods.

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New Orleans City Council could vote today on new rules for demolitions in older neighborhoods

by Bruce Eggler, The Times-Picayune

Thursday November 20, 2008, 7:43 AM

The New Orleans City Council could vote today on a proposed ordinance intended to prevent unnecessary demolitions in many of the city's older neighborhoods.

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Kenner to consider wide-ranging land-use plan tonight

by The Times-Picayune

Thursday November 20, 2008, 7:00 AM

After eight years and numerous public meetings, a master plan to govern land use in Kenner for the next 20 years comes up for a City Council vote today.

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Al Copeland's holiday lights to shine on in Metairie

by Richard Rainey, The Times-Picayune

Wednesday November 19, 2008, 6:00 AM

The Times-Picayune archiveAl Copeland's 2006 holiday display at his home in Metairie.

The first Christmas without Al Copeland will not be the last for his unbounded display of holiday lights and baubles.

His family has planned a scaled-down version this year of the late Popeye's Chicken magnate's homage to electric cheer. It will be where it has been for most of the past 35 years: festooned across the grounds of Copeland's home on Folse Drive in Metairie.

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Pennsylvania grand jury looking at how GOP used New Orleans demographer's work

by David Hammer, The Times-Picayune

Tuesday November 18, 2008, 3:09 PM

A New Orleans demography firm is at the center of a grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania as the Keystone State's attorney general continues a sweeping probe into whether public funds paid for partisan campaign activities there.

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Early voting for Dec. 6 election begins today

by Ramon Antonio Vargas, The Times-Picayune

Tuesday November 18, 2008, 9:07 AM

Starting today, registered voters can cast early ballots in Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District race and the state Senate's 3rd District contest, both slated for Dec. 6.

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Political strategist James Carville to teach course on presidential election at Tulane this spring

by John Pope, The Times-Picayune

Tuesday November 18, 2008, 7:40 AM

James Carville, the colorful political mastermind from Louisiana whose strategy helped propel Bill Clinton into the White House, will join Tulane University's political science faculty in the spring to teach an undergraduate course on this year's presidential election.

Even though Carville earned undergraduate and law degrees from LSU, Tulane's arch-rival, he managed to be gracious about his new job.

In a statement Monday, Carville said he is "pleased to be joining the faculty of such a prestigious university."

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New Orleans' new DA warns staff of hard work

by Laura Maggi, The Times-Picayune

Monday November 17, 2008, 9:38 PM

JENNIFER ZDON / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE Leon Cannizzaro at his swearing-in

Newly sworn-in District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro got an early start on his first day at the job Monday, meeting with prosecutors to outline his expectations.

All employees at the Orleans Parish district attorney's office are welcome to keep their jobs under the new administration, as long as they realize that hard work and long hours will be expected, Cannizzaro said.

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Mandeville Police Chief Tom Buell's small town values may have contributed to his downfall

by Cindy Chang, The Times-Picayune

Monday November 17, 2008, 6:49 AM

Scott Threlkeld / The Times-PicayuneMandeville Police Chief Tom Buell, left, who has led the department since 1974, and Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price.

The opening strains of Tom Buell's farewell to Mandeville on Thursday night were met with accolades befitting a police chief who had served for three decades, shepherding his department from a handful of officers into a modern force equipped with laptops and sophisticated radios.

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New Orleans City Council president supports colleague in war of words with Mayor Ray Nagin

by Frank Donze and Bruce Eggler, The Times-Picayune

Friday November 14, 2008, 10:29 PM

NEW ORLEANS POLITICS

City Council President Jackie Clarkson weighed in Friday on the heated confrontation Tuesday between Councilwoman Stacy Head and Sanitation Director Veronica White that then inspired an angry e-mail message from Nagin to Clarkson.

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Obama eyeing Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State, Democratic officials say

by The Associated Press

Friday November 14, 2008, 9:47 AM

The Associated PressSen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., left, delivers a speech supporting Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., at a rally in Orlando on Oct. 20. Two Democratic officials say she is now being considered for Secretary of State.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is among the candidates that President-elect Barack Obama is considering for secretary of state, according to two Democratic officials in close contact with the Obama transition team.

Clinton, the former first lady who pushed Obama hard for the Democratic presidential nomination, was rumored to be a contender for the job last week, but the talk died down as party activists questioned whether she was best-suited to be the nation's top diplomat in an Obama administration.

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Mandeville Police Chief Tom Buell to retire following scandal

by Cindy Chang, The Times-Picayune

Thursday November 13, 2008, 8:38 PM

Scott Threlkeld / The Times-PicayuneMandeville Police Chief Tom Buell, left, is pictured here in July with Mayor Eddie Price. He has announced his resignation.

Mandeville Police Chief Tom Buell announced his retirement on Thursday after 30 years in the post, making him the first official to take the fall for a series of scandals that is now the focus of state and federal criminal investigations.

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Gov. Bobby Jindal's economic chief violated ethics law before joining administration

by Robert Travis Scott, The Times-Picayune

Thursday November 13, 2008, 5:09 PM

STAFF PHOTO/ELLIS LUCIAEconomic Development Secretary Stephen Moret

BATON ROUGE -- One of Gov. Bobby Jindal's top Cabinet members violated state ethics laws before joining the administration and has agreed to pay a $1,200 fine for failing to properly register as a lobbyist, the state Board of Ethics determined today.

Stephen Moret, Jindal's secretary of economic development, admitted to the infraction by signing an agreement with the ethics board that explained the circumstances and set the amount of the fine, which under Louisiana law could have been as high as $10,000. The board accepted the agreement at its monthly meeting and released the document.

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Grand jury appearance delayed for Junior Rodriguez, former St. Bernard Parish president

by The Times-Picayune

Thursday November 13, 2008, 11:18 AM

Henry "Junior" Rodriguez, the former St. Bernard Parish president, said today that federal authorities have postponed his grand jury appearance because of a scheduling error.

Rodriguez had planned to visit the grand jury this morning at the U.S. District Courthouse in New Orleans, but he said he was told Wednesday afternoon of the postponement. No new date has been scheduled, he said.

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Second top official with state Department of Social Services resigns

by The Associated Press

Thursday November 13, 2008, 8:59 AM

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- The head of the state Department of Social Services Office of Community Services has resigned.

Assistant Secretary Marketa Garner Gautreau, who oversees the state's child protection and foster and adoption programs, declined to comment Wednesday when asked if she was told to step down.

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Want to know what your state taxpayer dollars pay for? Try the Jindal administration's new website

by Jan Moller, The Times-Picayune

Thursday November 13, 2008, 8:07 AM

BATON ROUGE -- Want to know what the state Office of Business Development spent last year on employee salaries ($4,349,216.48)? How much the lieutenant governor's office has spent so far this year on travel and training ($117,881.49)? Or the annual salary of Insurance Commissioner James Donelon ($115,000)?

Starting Wednesday, a new Web site developed by the state budget office allows citizens to find such information with a mouse click, rather than a public records request, as part of an ongoing effort by Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration to make state government more transparent and accountable.

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Demand high in Louisiana for tickets to Obama's inauguration

by Bruce Alpert, The Times-Picayune

Thursday November 13, 2008, 7:56 AM

The Associated PressPresident-elect Barack Obama, his wife Michelle Obama and two daughters, Malia, and Sasha, wave to the crowd at the election night rally in Chicago. Tickets to Obama's inauguration on Jan. 20 are a hot commodity.

WASHINGTON -- Back in May, even before Barack Obama had won the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, Brenda Grimm Jackson of Jeanerette had secured a chartered bus and hotel for 55 people to attend his Jan. 20 inauguration.

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What Obama will do about New Orleans recovery still unclear

by Bruce Alpert, The Times-Picayune

Wednesday November 12, 2008, 11:30 AM

WASHINGTON -- During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama issued a policy paper pledging to "keep the broken promises made by President Bush to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast" and "ensure that the federal government will never again allow such catastrophic failures in emergency planning and response to occur."

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Mayor Ray Nagin asks for $1.6 million to maintain embattled crime camera program

by David Hammer, The Times-Picayune

Wednesday November 12, 2008, 8:51 AM

Councilwoman Stacy Head has long questioned the effectiveness of the city's crime camera program.

Under fire for crime cameras that critics say often don't work and haven't proved an effective tool for fighting crime, officials of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's administration tried Tuesday to redefine the equipment's purpose to justify spending another $1.6 million on maintenance next year.

At a City Council budget hearing, council members Stacy Head and Arnie Fielkow questioned the proposed expenditure, saying they need proof the cameras are providing a crime-fighting benefit.

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James Gill: U.S. Attorney General Jim Letten -- Society's gain is newshound's loss

by James Gill, Columnist, The Times-Picayune

Wednesday November 12, 2008, 7:25 AM

Susan PoagU.S. Attorney Jim Letten addressses the media after State Sen. Derrick Shepherd pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering at the Hale Boggs Federal Courthouse in New Orleans Oct. 10.

Boy, was I pleased when Barack Obama won the election. At last, I thought to myself, we'll be rid of U.S. Attorney Jim Letten. Letten is a newspaperman's nightmare. You can't laugh at him because he never says anything stupid. You can't blast him because he is scrupulously fair. He works tirelessly putting crooks in stir, but is a most amiable fellow. He is an absolute dead loss.

So, thanks for nothing, Mary Landrieu. Just because Letten has done an exemplary job during the Bush administration, the doyenne of Louisiana Democrats does not think he should be replaced.

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Bobby Jindal says he "politely declined" to run for vice president on McCain ticket

by Jan Moller, The Times-Picayune

Tuesday November 11, 2008, 9:16 PM

John McCusker / The Times-PicayuneGovernor Bobby Jindal introduces Senator John McCain at a campaign event at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner in June. Jindal on Tuesday said he declined a chance to be on a short list to be McCain's vice presidential running mate.

BATON ROUGE -- Gov. Bobby Jindal said Tuesday that he "politely declined" last summer an opportunity to be on John McCain's short list for the vice presidency.

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