William Jefferson's corruption might not be the most important issue to folks recovering from "the storm" and "the flood" in post-k New Orleans, but it is an issue.  What's more, it's an issue that moves numbers.  "Honorable explanations" forthcoming or not, there is really just no way to spin accepting a $100,000 bribe on videotape and later finding $90,000 of it in a freezer.  They say humor is a powerful weapon in political campaigns, and the jokes write themselves when politics comes up as a topic among family, friends and neighbors down here.  Indeed, it is almost universally the first piece that comes up when I talk with random individuals throughout the city.

This is an area with a tremendous sense of pride, both before and after the storm -- particularly after since the "looting" and "lawlessness" television coverage, and the fact they have been forced to fend for themselves since August 29, 2005.  You see it in the local blogs, you see it in the new class of NOLA-PD trainees (first since K) that cite "helping rebuild a broken city" as a reason for enlisting, and you can just see it on the street.  Guilty or not, the "cash in the freezer congressman" is a local embarrassment, a natural enemy of those working tirelessly to rebuild both the city and its image.

To that end, Karen Carter is running a brand new ad on the issue.  Judge for yourself...