Time magazine names her one of the nation’s worst governors:

Failures aren’t born. They’re made. Before Hurricane Katrina, it wasn’t the job of Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to plan for the evacuation of the elderly and poor from New Orleans. Afterward, she wasn’t in charge of the federal response. But it was her job to give her constituents heart by looking decisive, steadfast and capable. Even if she wasn’t.

When it mattered most, Blanco appeared “dazed and confused,” says Bernie Pinsonat, a bipartisan political consultant in Baton Rouge, La. When NBC’s Matt Lauer asked her whether it was hard to find words to reassure the public, she tried to muster optimism, then circled back to despair. “You know, our people out here are so fearful. They’re so worried … It’s a nightmare.”

No, she was.

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The Political Teen digs up video of Blanco’s response in a 2003 gubernatorial debate outlining what she would do in case of a Category 5 hurricane. Needless to say, her words did not match her (in)action.

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