Yesterday, John Edwards came back to New Orleans. He announced that he is suspending his race for the White House, but he remains a committed anti-poverty activist. Well, New Orleans needs John Edwards more than John Edwards needs a backdrop for a campaign stop.
Video of John thanking his Daily Kos supporters, and lots of photos of the event, below the fold. No pootie pics this time, but I do have New Orleans cemetery and Mardi Gras pics.
And, of course, I answer the question: What does John Edwards carry around in his tool belt when working on a Habitat for Humanity housing project?
First, the thank you. I asked John Edwards if he had anything to say to his supporters at Daily Kos. Here is his (6-second) response:
So, I'm Canadian. I watched the Katrina debacle unfold on live Tee-Vee, I was flabbergasted. I joined this site, and have since made 3 trips to New Orleans to see for myself. My impressions: the 'rich' areas, the French Quarter, the Garden District, Algiers, etc., it's as if Katrina never happened. The suburbs are dotted with the occasional house in disrepair or about to be demolished, but from all the monster SUVs on the road, and the way people are spending money, Katrina is just a bad memory.
But take a drive through the lower 9th Ward, or even just two blocks west of Algiers on the West Bank, and you're face-to-face with the stark contrast between John Edwards' "Two Americas". Since I'm a photographer, I chose to tell this story in photographs. I decided to use primarily New Orleans cemeteries, from Metairie/Lake Lawn (stunning) to Holt (a sort of Potter's Field) which is nearly untouched since Katrina.
Then John Edwards came to town. You've seen the speech, read the transcript, all I remember is that he spoke of taking those "Two Americas" and bringing them together to make One.
The Edwards family approaches the podium:
The speech itself barely lasted 10 minutes. The Edwards stand for applause after:
John takes questions from the press:
As does Elizabeth:
Yes, the press gaggle was a larger contingent than the Edwards supporters:
Afterwards, Edwards takes turn with his two youngest kids at a staged, photo-op handrail installation:
Before moving on to real construction, installing siding with his wife on one of the actual in-construction Habitat for Humanity - Musicians' Village houses:
Yes, this was a real construction site, I've been around enough to know. And Edwards was doing the exact same work as most of the volunteers that day. From inside the house, with one of Edwards' giant flags as a background:
The whole construction crew working with the Edwards:
I've always been suspicious of politicians who use their kids as props in campaign stops. So I watched the Edwards' kids very closely, and they seem to be happy kids who are just having another family outing where there just happens to be a few dozen cameras following them around. Check out the smile on the boy's face as his dad speaks:
As I was watching the kids, Elizabeth kept a watchful eye on me and all the other crazies... The younger kids were never more than a few feet away from her:
Did I say crazy? One of the 'real' press people asked Elizabeth why they weren't wearing beads, since this is Mardi Gras season and nothing says Mardi Gras like a string of glow-in-the-dark Smiley-face giant beads... I promptly offered mine to Mrs. Edwards, not only declined but seemed concerned that one of her kids might take me up on the offer. Pity, they would have looked good on her.
Some crazy Canadian dude with a string of beads:
So what does John Edwards carry around in his tool belt when he works on a Habitat for Humanity house? Inquiring minds want to know:
Since Edwards is all about poverty, a subject very close to my heart, I took a walk around the Musicians' Village site to see where we were:
Many of these houses are almost untouched since Katrina. Houses needed to be gutted and cleaned up, otherwise the City of New Orleans would demolish them, seize the property, and send the previous owner a bill for the clean-up costs. So there are dozens of empty, gutted houses sitting in what looks like empty fields, in the Lower 9th Ward:
Since it is Mardi Gras season, here are some gratuitous pics of happy people. Click on the titles for a larger version.
Hey! Throw ME something!
It's all about the music...
OK, maybe it's about dressing up funny and throwing beads at people:
And all in all, a really fun family outing... waitin' for the next float:
I did promise cemetery photos, so here's the supremely beautiful Lake Lawn cemetery, perhaps the most beautiful in the US:
It's perhaps the most peaceful place I have ever visited:
Just across the I-10, tucked away behind a college, sits Holt Cemetery and a FEMA trailer park:
Holt was under 5 feet of water during Katrina, and almost nothing has been done to clean up:
Elsewhere, the Saint-Louis cemeteries
border on the homeless village under the I-10
Mayor Ray Nagin was on the news as I write this, saying that this homeless village / tent city will be forcibly removed after Mardi Gras:
Mayor Nagin is not particularly well-liked around here:
And finally, they're demolishing, with no plans to rebuild, the (undamaged by Katrina) housing projects:
as a knife-in-the back, gratuitous F-U, in a city where most people (well, the not-rich people) are still waiting to see some reconstruction or insurance money:
So... Party On! Or, as they say around here, Laissez les bons temps rouler!
All photos copyright Swiftcurrent Nature Photography 2008. Please email me at kingsmeg@gmail.com for permission (freely granted for non-profit ventures).