governor haley barbour, the man who led the republican party the last time it captured the house and senate. and a close look at the woman that has become the most electrifying republican. is she running? actor wendel pierce and producer david simon. why a major television series about a disaster, all from new orleans. and now, the chairman of the republican governors association, haley barbour of mississippi. we met him in the patio of a classic french quarter restaurant, broussards. governor, a lot of what we heard at the southern republican leadership conference has been about how good it looks this november. how good does it look this november for republicans? candy, the political environment for republicans this first half of april 2010 is better than it was the first half of april 1994, when we won 54 seats in the house, took control of the house, the senate, and more than 30
starting again. you can t stay here, daddy. i hate this, why do we even just wait. clark peter plays albert lambreaux, whose children begs him to give up on new orleans. his son asks him, you think you re staying? and he says, no, i know i am. hbo is another division of cnn s parent company, time warner. action! reporter: shooting is still continuing for labor episodes, so we caught up with creator david simon and actor wendel pierce in the french quarter. i wanted to start out with something, i read a quote from you. either we have something to say or we don t. what do you have to say? it s about culture. the last show, the wire, was about how power and money route themselves in an american city. this is really about what we re capable of as an american people. americans are decidedly an american people.
that new orleans has been making for most of its life. and then, also, is there a monopoly on those values? those values aren t just in the hinderlands, those values are in these neighborhoods that surround this city. when i came back home two years ago, we looked around and said, okay, nobody s coming. if we don t do it ourselves, it won t happen. there s a lot going wrong here, and yet people are resistant to the idea of giving up on this city. and the city is their life in a lot of ways, and there are more people here that feel that way about their city than any other place in america. it s remarkable, the individual commitment to the urban life of this place. and it argues for something better. it deserves something better. that in spite of the struggle, there s hope and it hasn t killed the spirit. and you know, we understand that that s going to give way to joy and to success and renewal. wendel pierce and david simon. coming up, a quick check of today s top headlines,