MeMaw is "inspiring"

SELF magazine honors Gov. Blanco as an "inspiring woman".

The article spotlights an array of women from all walks of life, from Oprah Winfrey to Sandra Bullock. Gov. Blanco shares a spot on the list with the nation's eight other female governors "for showing the country and the world that women are cut out to lead."

I'm sorry, I just don't get it. The following examples of her work leave me just the opposite of "inspired".


from NBC , some examples of the real "leader":
She and the mayor waited until Sunday [Aug. 28] , only 20 hours before Katrina came ashore, to order a mandatory evacuation, the first of what disaster experts and Louisiana insiders say were serious mistakes by the governor."

Blanco's lateness in getting the Louisiana National Guard, which she commands, on the streets to try to establish security.

The governor would not say whether she made the decision not to use these troops, and tells NBC News that her state's response to Katrina was, quote, 'very well-planned' and 'executed with great precision and effectiveness

uh, huh...

Road Home Program

 Bush told Blanco that he was ready to move with troops and relief immediately, but Blanco requested a delay of 24 hours

From Time magazine
When it mattered most, Blanco appeared "dazed and confused," says Bernie Pinsonat, a bipartisan political consultant in Baton Rouge, La. When NBC's Matt Lauer asked her whether it was hard to find words to reassure the public, she tried to muster optimism, then circled back to despair. "You know, our people out here are so fearful. They're so worried ... It's a nightmare."
Blanco waited seven weeks to appoint a recovery commission. She was slow to call the legislature back into session to deal with a nearly $1 billion decline in tax revenue. Her suggested cuts--to education and health care--came under fire last week as unrealistic. In 21 years in state politics, Blanco, a Democrat, was always cautious and deliberative. But those qualities have turned into liabilities.

SELF magazine seems geared towards vacuous young women, as shown by some of their choices for "inspiring" women.