Earlier this year, Landrieu mounted a third mayoral run, and this time he won decisively. Since taking office in May, he has moved deftly, appointing a well-regarded new chief to head the troubled New Orleans Police Department and enacting new guidelines designed to introduce transparency into government contracting. With connections in Baton Rouge (where he served as a state representative and lieutenant governor for 16 years) and in Washington -- and the stirrings of progress in public safety and education -- Landrieu now has a unique opportunity "to be seen as the guy who turned around New Orleans," says LaPolitics Weekly publisher John Maginnis.
If he can do that, observers say, Landrieu would be well-positioned to do what no New Orleans mayor since 1879 has done -- return to Baton Rouge as governor.