E-Mails Expose Katrina La. PR Woes

Governor's Office Memos Show Aides Fretted About Blanco's Appearance

(CBS/AP)  "Gov. Blanco might dress down a bit and look like she has rolled up her sleeves," press consultant Kim Fuller of Witt Associates wrote in a Sept. 4 e-mail to aides including Bottcher, Mann and Kopplin. "I have some great Liz Claiborne sports clothes that look kind of Eddie Bauer, but with class, but would bring her down to level of getting to work."

"She would look like a woman, but show she is MOVING MOUNTAINS," Fuller wrote.

Former Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown also was criticized for e-mails that showed him discussing his wardrobe during the crisis created by Katrina. Brown resigned amid questions about his disaster management experience.

The PR spin wasn't just originating behind the scenes in Blanco's office, but also being analyzed. One e-mail from Kopplin read: "From the VA press office that is helping us The (White House) spin is that this (sic) state and local fault — but the good news is that except for Fox and LA Times, it doesn't't (sic) appear that many are buying it. Their strategy is president takes the high road …"

The Blanco administration e-mails also reflected concerns about racial politics — specifically, needing to appear sensitive to black evacuees.

"You send that many black folks out of state, we will have a perception problem," Blanco assistant chief of staff Johnny Anderson wrote in a Sept. 2 e-mail.

"Word is already that we are only sending blacks out of this state," Anderson wrote. "We are make (sic) a strategic error. FEMA will not have to answer to the people, we will."

Responding, Blanco deputy chief of staff Kim Hunter Reed said Anderson's note "reflected the concerns of one staff member."

"The reality was that because of the (pre-storm) evacuations, all of the space had been filled and we had no choice but to seek out-of-state options," Reed said. She added: "Our concern was to get our citizens to safety."

Taken with the thousands of other documents that Blanco's office released, the e-mails "reflect a Louisiana-made solution to a horrible tragedy," Reed said. She said the governor was focused on search and rescue, and getting as much federal assistance as possible.

Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin are to testify Wednesday in front of the House panel investigating Hurricane Katrina response.