Campaign trail hears little talk about recovery

BATON ROUGE -- Based on the early rhetoric from the governor's race, it might seem that south Louisiana's recovery from the devastating hurricanes of 2005 is no longer an issue. Republican front-runner Bobby Jindal has named as his top priority reversing the state's reputation for corruption. The Kenner congressman promises a written recovery plan, but the first three chapters of his self-described reform agenda have dealt with ethics, crime and education policy. And Jindal, the prohibitive favorite in the race, has concentrated his campaign travels in north Louisiana, where rural white voters helped spell his defeat four years ago in a runoff against Democrat Kathleen Blanco. Populist Democrat Foster Campbell, in a message undeniably bold but not necessarily new, is hinging his run on a promise to repeal the state income tax and make up that revenue and more by overhauling levies on oil companies. Jefferson Parish businessman John Georges, running as an independent, has focused his early campaign efforts -- and advertising buys -- on framing himself as a family man with the business acumen necessary to manage state government. Democratic state Sen. Walter Boasso of Arabi, the candidate most personally affected by the storm, has trumpeted insurance changes as the key to recovery. But he has pegged his identity as a candidate more generically to his physical stature, styling himself in campaign advertisements and materials as strong enough to meet "the big challenges that face Louisiana," as he juxtaposes himself with a cardboard cutout of the considerably slighter Jindal.

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