Overheard in the Big Easy

I am in New Orleans today for business and wondered how the city was taking the twin crises of less seafood and less drilling. Not so well, it turns out. Most interesting comment of the day, overheard from restaurant waitstaff:

"I know two states Obama's not going to carry next time, Arizona and Louisiana."

B-Daddy was in no position to elicit follow on commentary, but I wonder what the connection was, if any. Also heard, which would have been amazing any other year in this city:

"Only one more month before we can start watching NFL."

Also, the restaurants are hurting as the there is a real run on seafood. Couldn't get any steamed mussels appetizers at the after work meeting social; no biggie, perhaps, but Landry's, one of the better known seafood restaurants in the city (even if it si a chain) was practically deserted, despite a very generous happy hour menu that included $5 martinis and various seafood samplers, except where they had run out. While waiting for a Shrimp Po' Boy at the hotel restaurant, I caught a CNN piece on the fact that restaurants are also hurting due to oil workers having fewer dollars to spend. When CNN starts jumping on Obama, even if indirectly, you know he has troubles.

By the way, the hotel had a house beer, a microbrew made on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain. It was a medium dark lager, trending towards the nut brown ale taste. What was surprising was that you could taste the hops, something I had not experienced in a micro-brew from outside of California. All in all, a nice pairing with the po' boy loaded up with Tabasco.

And yes, your humble servant actually did some work for the taxpayers, so I don't want to hear any crap.