Nagin's verdict: Cuba does a better job than US.

Last week we talked about NOLA Mayor Ray Nagin's trip to Cuba to study emergency preparedness. Well, it looks like he's back and he's just brimming with that Communist Can Do spirit.

<--- Our man in Havana.

(Can I interest you in a "Chocolate Cigar"?)

Nagin told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he thinks Cuba's repressive regime does "a much better job" than U.S. officials of identifying citizen needs and deploying resources in the face of hurricanes, which routinely batter the Caribbean nation.

Though Hurricanes Gustav, Ike and Paloma all struck the island last year, only seven Cubans were killed, in part because authorities use soldiers to close highways and enforce evacuations.

Unh-huh.

Harking back to the botched response to Hurricane Katrina, the mayor told the AP's Havana correspondent that "one of the biggest weaknesses we had . . . (was that) it wasn't clear who was the top authority."

There's no such problem in Cuba, where Raul Castro and his brother, Fidel, have been the unquestioned commanders since 1959.

Okay, Ray. You're really scaring me now.

Nagin also praised Cuban officials for "knowing their citizens at a very, very detailed level, block by block."

Hey, you know what else Mayor Nagin is all het up about since he returned? New Orleans mayor pushes for NOLA - CUBA flights.