I dont think that any person can fix FEMA. I think FEMA needs a total restructuring. I think it needs to be taken from scratch and redone. The regulations are outdated; the rules are outdated.

You take dark chocolate, you mix it with white milk, and it becomes a delicious drink. That is the chocolate I am talking about.

The reality is this city will not be the same for a while, ... We're not saying bring New Orleans back today.

Basically, the start of my thinking process is: 'OK, if you didn't have to worry about re-election, what would you be doing?' That's kind of how I'm starting to think.

One of the best moments Ive ever had in New Orleans is seeing Bourbon Street filled on a weekend night not long ago. Just watching the city breathe again.

It's time for us to come together. It's time for us to rebuild New Orleans - the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans. This city will be a majority African American city. It's the way God wants it to be. You can't have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans.

I always feel that in politics, you have a bridle on. Well, I took the bridle off. And I tell you, it felt pretty good.