They praise Realtors for supporting N.O.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

By Greg Thomas

Addressing a capacity crowd Saturday during the National Association of Realtors convention in New Orleans , former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton pleaded for bipartisanship from the newly Democratic-controlled Congress while also pushing the cause of continued aid to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast .

With standees surrounding 5,000 filled seats in a hall at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center , Bush and Clinton used well-honed comedy routines to appeal for continued contributions to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Relief Fund, which so far has raised $129 million for recovery efforts in Louisiana , Mississippi and Alabama .

Bush, who first partnered with former political rival Clinton in 2004 to raise money for survivors of the South Asian tsunami, said a closely divided Congress should follow the ex-presidents' ability to put political differences with a former foe aside when it comes to continuing support for storm recovery efforts.

"It's typical of American spirit and shows the compassion of the American citizen," Bush said.

He lauded Americans for their donations not only to the Bush-Clinton Fund, which he said has received contributions from "corporations to classrooms," but also to hundreds of other charitable efforts, ranging from students gutting flooded homes during vacations to the Realtors' commitment of $18 million.

Kudos to Realtors

Bush and Clinton also commended the Realtors group for keeping its 30,000-person convention in New Orleans , where it is the largest convention to come to town since Katrina.

Bush chided those he said are "saying New Orleans ain't going to make it. It will never come back." The Realtors group has gone a long way to prove the naysayers wrong, he said.

Bush received a burst of applause when he said that even though the midterm elections were a tough campaign and bruising for his son, President George W. Bush, when it comes to cooperation in support for hurricane relief efforts, "some things are more important than partisan politics."

He said he served his one-term presidency with a Democratic-controlled Congress, just as Clinton faced a GOP-dominated Congress during his second term, and said both achieved successes during those times. "You can compromise to get some things done," he said.

Bush punctuated his speech with self-deprecating humor, noting that he has lived in 31 homes during 61 years of marriage, "and that usually means somebody can't hold onto a job." But, he said, "I did pretty well until 1992, until Bill Clinton came along."

Clinton said he feared playing the straight man to Bush's jokes the rest of his life, but he quickly got serious with the crowd, urging them to go home and spread the word about New Orleans' progress and continuing needs. He said the Realtors' relief money and volunteer efforts were a major boon to the area.

And like Bush, he said that a Democratic Congress and Republican administration can work together, not just on hurricane relief but on many matters.

"Give (cooperation) a chance to break through the gridlock and animosity, to work together," he said.

City is coming back

He told the Realtors to take back to their home states the word that New Orleans is coming back, that at least 50 percent of the city's population has returned, that the workforce is 80 percent of its pre-Katrina level and that 56 schools, or 43 percent of the number before Katrina, are up and running.

Clinton's most emphatic request was for the Realtors to remember that 35 of the open schools are charter schools, a concept he has long backed. In such schools, he said, parents are not tied to red-tape-strapped school boards and can make major decisions about their children's schools themselves.

He said the shift to charter schools in New Orleans is an important experiment that should prove to other states that charters are a viable way to educate children.

Clinton also urged his audience to tell their friends that 85 percent of the city's hotel rooms are open, that 60 percent of electrical and 40 percent of gas power has been restored, and that Louis Armstrong International Airport is operating at 50 percent capacity.

He received a roar of applause when he said the Port of New Orleans is at 100 percent capacity.

Going green

Clinton and Bush are backing an energy-efficient building scheme to reduce global warming and hope to take the program to 35 to 40 cities,

Clinton said New Orleans presents a tremendous opportunity for "green building" and that two of the new schools the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund will build along the Gulf Coast will follow green-building guidelines.

Clinton won his most thunderous response when he stated his belief, which he said is shared by Bush, that Congress and the administration should come together to restore Louisiana's "30 years of wetlands destruction" from saltwater intrusion and oil-production activities.

Clinton did not, however, directly endorse the effort by Gov. Kathleen Blanco and the Louisiana congressional delegation to claim a larger share of oil and gas royalties for the state to pay for coastal restoration.

Of the money raised by Bush and Clinton for storm relief, Clinton said that $40 million has been given to government entities and $30 million to colleges. The fund also has supplied $25 million to rebuild churches.

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