You folks know what I wanted to title this post. But this is a respectable establishment. It's funny. When I was working for Washington City Paper we always wanted to do a story on the only place more poorly ran than Washington D.C. (these were the Barry years) on New Orleans. So when I saw that Dollar Bill was running for re-election, I of course thought of Barry. Anyone interested in how William Jefferson should check out this lovely Jason Berry profile from the estimable Washington Monthly.
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
Copyright © 2009 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.
I've sort of given up on being outraged by his continued existence in Congress. If the folks of LA can't find someone (Black, White, etc.) to challenge and beat him, then they've got what they want.
I grew up in New Orleans, where good government is quite literally a foreign concept. At the city and state level, it was all about the patronage. Representing your constituents may be how it's done elsewhere, but Louisiana politicians have a tradition to uphold.
From my four month residence in New Orleans in the 90's, I can honestly say Mr. Jefferson appears to represent his constituency with a great many harmonies.