Governor Kathleen Blanco’s announcement that she would not stand for re-election this year is a milestone on the path to correcting the grave mistake by voters four years ago in the state elections.

The 2003 contest pitted an intelligent and capable young man (i.e. the kind of person who on a daily basis escapes this state for the financially greener pastures of Houston and Atlanta) against someone who spent her last eight years in government throwing parties and cutting ribbons. 

It should surprise no one that an individual whose election was paved by character assassination, womynists voting on gender preference and racists would turn out to be a disaster of a governor.

Sure the omen of dire things to come was apparent at her inauguration when Blanco garbled her oath of office in Cajun French but prior to August 2005, Louisiana’s first female governor was well-liked and viewed as a non-threatening grandmotherly figure that could at worst be accused of being overly enamored with the trappings of power. 

Her failure to take quick action to remove the tolls from the Crescent City Connection in the midst of the mass evacuation for Hurricane Ivan, the meeting with Fidel Castro and striking out against dissident lawmakers by arranging to have their committee spots yanked were blemishes that failed to dent her once robust popularity and it seemed for a while that her re-election would be inevitable. 

And then along came Katrina.

After the storm, Blanco struggled to shake the image of being indecisive and not up to the task of managing the immediate recovery. 

The failure of the Road Home program to efficiently handle the claims of tens of thousands of south Louisiana residents whose houses were destroyed during the 2005 storm season was the final nail in her political coffin.

Yet like the Bruce Willis character in The Sixth Sense, the governor was unaware of her demise though the stench from her abysmal poll numbers sent Democratic pols running to the windows and to the Mid-Atlantic seaboard for a stand-in.

Whether ex-US Senator and current Maryland resident John Breaux enters the race for governor is still unknown, though many political observers credit him for pulling the plug on Blanco’s re-election bid.  The people of Louisiana will have some idea in a few weeks when he either announces his intentions or re-registers to vote in Louisiana, whichever comes first. 

In addition to Breaux, potential Democratic successors include Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu, Third District Congressman Charlie Melancon and ex-Seventh District Congressman Chris John.  Though Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell recently announced his gubernatorial intentions, it’s apparent that Democratic money men have little confidence in his candidacy.

Having now escaped a direct judgment by the people this fall, Blanco hopes to exploit the upcoming legislative session to legacy build, though history will undoubtedly show that all the Turtle Wax in the world cannot polish a Yugo into a Mercedes. 

Blanco treated politics as a game, playing north and southwest Louisiana against New Orleans, ULL versus LSU and legislators against each other.  While Saints owner Tom Benson is not renowned for diplomatic skills, Blanco behaved acrimoniously during the negotiations to keep the NFL franchise in the state, perhaps due to Benson’s generous contributions to Jindal and the GOP.

Her heavy-handed dealings with the legislature did not reflect well upon her administration and underscored the true imbalance of power in the state’s branches of government.  When derisively referred to as the “Queen Bee” by one legislator who lost his committee chairmanship due to his refusal to support the governor on a favored tax measure, Blanco made a point of sporting a bee lapel.  Some considered the move cute; others no doubt viewed it as a smug show of arrogance.

Blanco’s apologists will cry (key word) that had Katrina not happened, she would have been a success, to which I disagree. 

Blanco was not so much a victim of natural disaster than the beneficiary of the electorate’s prejudices and Jindal’s naïve posture that the voters would see through the mud. 

Katrina showed the consequences of choosing political leaders on gender and complexion and not competence and ability.

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Mike Bayham is a political consultant in south Louisiana and can be reached at MikeBayham@yahoo.com.