No doubt that is still a valid point. But now it's Nagin's optimism of last week that feels outdated. His more recent move to call off the repopulation of the city for fear of Hurricane Rita comes after days in which the mayor was at odds with federal officials on up to President Bush about whether the city was truly habitable.
What's clear in all this back-and-forthing about whether and when New Orleanians should return home is that it's too soon to say. The situation is not stable but the various levels of government, it seems, still aren't sharing good information with each other on a timely basis.
What appears to be happening is that, despite the fact that repopulating New Orleans will clearly take weeks and rebuilding the city will take years, Nagin and other officials feel the pressure of the hyped-up, immediate response news cycle. Politicians and others who inhabit a media-oriented world have grown accustomed to constant comment and response. It's a time and situation when no one wants to announce, "we'll have to wait and see."
We'll wait and see what Nagin will predict come next week.
