Demagogue

Sen. Landrieu's plan to lead a sizable U.S. delegation to view the Netherlands' water defenses is a good idea that falls into the "better late than never" category. But this is the nature of things: the Dutch Delta Works, which are one of the modern wonders of the world IMHO, didn't get started until after the disastrous North Sea flood in the 1950s, which killed more people than Katrina.

I just hope our government has the attention span to continue carrying out the necessary work over the long term, even when most of the country has forgotten Katrina. The Delta Works took 30 years to complete.

If the Dutch Ambassador wanted to be cruel, he could have made the invitation contingent on Landrieu's pronouncing his name correctly. For those who don't know the name of the Dutch Ambassador to the U.S. off the top of your heads, it's Boudewijn J. van Eenennaam.