If the restoration of New Orleans fails as miserably as its rescue, the nation will have lost not only a cultural treasure but an important enclave of progressive values and Democratic strength in the Deep South.

From the time French explorers claimed a clearing for a settlement along the massive river three centuries ago, New Orleans existed as a place distinctly different from the rest of the country. There was nothing remotely Puritan about its early years. A strong hint of the pagan could be smelled in the air, and in modern times the city became a refreshing detour off the Bible Beltway. While the rest of the region exercised piety, New Orleans honored tolerance. In New Orleans, wine, women and song were not synonymous with sin; gay people found refuge; and racially mixed couples were acceptable at a time when there were laws against miscegenation in neighboring states.

New Orleans was not without the racial tensions and urban problems that grip other American municipalities. Its public schools had deteriorated badly, presenting an image as shameful as its gang-infested housing projects. In the days since Katrina struck, the world has been exposed to New Orleans' saddest and seamiest side: the inequities that trapped the poor in neighborhoods vulnerable to flooding, the distrust that troubled relations between blacks and whites. New Orleans was always a poor place; that's why the blues resonated so clearly here. Yet a dogged live-and-let-live spirit helped the city transcend its difficulties and persevere as one of the last resorts for romantics.

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