Mayoral debate unleashes plenty of barbs for absentee candidate Mitch Landrieu
by David Hammer - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

Radio station WBOK hosted one of the most spirited mayoral debates of the election season last month. The scene at the station was noticeably different Wednesday morning, when the front-runner was a no-show and the others spent three hours rehashing old issues. And though Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu wasn't there, his presence was felt, as the five other candidates took turns invoking his name. "During the break we found the lieutenant governor," joked John Georges, who has been lobbing darts at Landrieu in hopes of peeling off enough votes to force a runoff. "He's in Miami on television, standing behind Mr. Benson and Rita. It's late-breaking news, the lieutenant governor is in Miami and we've got a mayor's race going on here in New Orleans." Troy Henry asked the host, Gerod Stevens, whether Landrieu had a conflict. "What did he do to you, G?" Henry asked. "You'll have to talk to my producer about that," Stevens demurred. Landrieu actually made three appearances in New Orleans during the three-hour WBOK forum, campaign manager Emily Arata said. First, he chose to go on a different radio station that, like WBOK, caters to a mostly black audience: Power 102.9 FM. The hip-hop station had Landrieu on with Calvin Mackie to discuss a recent report by the Louisiana Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys, a group convened by Landrieu in 2008. Landrieu also had a rally with union members and went on Spanish-language Telemundo and KGLA radio. f a commercial break, Georges interrupted Stevens and asked Couhig, "What did Mitch Landrieu mean when he said, 'Those people are stuck on stupid'?" on the campaign trail. "Stuck on stupid" became a rallying cry in New Orleans when, as Hurricane Rita bore down, fiery Lt. Gen. Russel Honore told gathered members of the media who were posing questions he deemed petty: "Don't get stuck on stupid, reporters." Georges said he thought that using the phrase showed Landrieu's "true personality" and suggested it was directed at black people. He got an assist from James Perry, who said Landrieu should choose his words carefully because there is a "real race problem in this city."