During the 1991 gubernatorial campaign against Klansman David Duke, Edwin Edwards said of the outcome that “the only way I can lose this election is if I’m caght in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy.”
Former Governor Earl Long once commented on those who were loyal to him: “If you are with me in the primary you get jobs. If you are with me in the runoff you get good government.”
Asked by an upstate preacher about his reputation for womanizing, gambling and drinking, Edwards denied the encounters with alcohol but added, “one out of three isn’t bad.”
Huey Long molded the image of the brash, colorful Louisiana governors – some of whom walked on the edge of corruption – but, like Edwards and Long, could still be effective. Nevertheless, Earl would spend time in a mental hospital while in office and Edwards, after being out of office, served a prison term. Yet, as is common to the brash, they can also be powerful.
There have been some duds in the pantheon of Louisiana governors, although some were effective even with the sideshow of being entertaining. Some others offered few laughs but just did their job well.
Consider John Bel Edwards. He left the governor’s office last week with a solid reputation. JBE, as he was commonly referred to, faced crises (including Hurricane Ida and the COVID-19 pandemic), but handled them with the type of leadership that could be expected of a West Point graduate who chose to be an Airborne Ranger. It could be said that anyone who decides to jump out of airplanes is either crazy or courageous. Edwards was the latter.
He took office following the Bobby Jindal administration, which left a huge debt with little to show for it. Healthcare and universities were both defunded. Edwards’ battlefield was a defiant Republic legislature staring down at the Democrat governor.
Yet, because he was a former legislator himself, Edwards knew how to work the system and to build consensus. Unlike Jindal, who spent much of his time positioning himself to be President, Edwards was content with fixing a broken state.
He is a spiritual, decent man who stuck to his beliefs. He might have risen higher in the national Democratic party had he not been opposed (with some exceptions) to abortion, but voters who are obsessed with only one issue often overlook the myriad other questions that a chief executive faces. It should be noted that his administration served eight years without any notable scandal or malpractice.
All governors nationwide had to face an untested crisis during the peak of COVID. Edwards handled it it well. His frequent televised updates left no doubt that he understood public health and was well advised about what to do.
Most governors were spared hurricanes, Edwards faced severe devistations in the Lake Charles area and southeast Louisiana. Witnessing disaster was a common challenge to his administration, but he was clearly in command.
In this presidential election year, I am personally discouraged by the front runners. Certainly, the nation can do better. Edwards has announced that he is taking a job with a New Orleans law firm. Congratulations to him. But wouldn’t the nation be better off if, for the next four years at least, the former Airborne Ranger could be Commander in Chief of a larger command? It is headquartered near the Potomac River.
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