I visited Lousiana recently to do some reporting on Sen. Mary Landrieu's bid to win a fourth term in a tough political year. But before heading to the key parishes that will determine Landrieu's fate this November, I stopped by New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward to see how rebuilding efforts are faring nearly nine years after Hurricane Katrina.I visited one particular spot -- the area where in August 2005 a flood wall holding the waters of the Industrial Canal broke. The destruction was total; the rebuilding is at best partial.The first thing one notices today is solar energy panels seem to outnumber people in this particular stretch of the Lower Ninth.