Obama and N.J. Gov. Christie show that they know compassion and competence can be the best politics.
9:36PM EDT October 31. 2012 - The 2012 campaign has revolved around clashing views over the size and role of government. In times of natural disaster, however, all but the most rugged individualists expect government to provide accurate warnings, rescue services and recovery assistance. And they expect elected officials to set aside partisan differences. When the job is botched, as it so thoroughly was in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, just about everyone howls, and heads roll.
OTHER VIEWS: Don't count on FEMA to fix things
Both President Obama and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie seemed to grasp those basic principles Wednesday as they toured the Jersey shore devastated by superstorm Sandy. Obama promised "all the help you need." Christie, who delivered a blistering anti-Obama speech as the keynote speaker at the Republican convention, effusively praised the president's leadership in the crisis — no doubt annoying partisans who would invent a way to blame Obama for the storm if they could.
Strange bedfellows, for sure, but successful leaders know that compassion and competence can be the best politics. Democratic mayors John Lindsay of New York and Michael Bilandic of Chicago lost public support after botching snow removal. President George W. Bush, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin suffered from the Katrina debacle. By contrast, Rudy Giuliani's inspirational leadership after 9/11 cemented his reputation.
What this week's megastorm adds to the presidential election debate is a clear principle: There are some things only the federal government is large enough to do effectively, even if it is not competent to handle the job by itself. At the top of the list is keeping Americans safe, whether from terrorists or hurricanes.
This idea has sometimes gotten lost amid partisan rhetoric.
When Mitt Romney was asked during a debate last year whether states should take over for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he replied, "Absolutely. Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that's even better."
With storm wreckage reaching from the Carolinas to the Canadian border, that quote wasn't playing very well, and Romney wisely modified his stance, saying Monday that states should get "help from the federal government and FEMA."
That lesson has been learned and unlearned repeatedly over the past two decades.
For years, FEMA was both officious and incompetent, trying to dictate policy to states instead of recognizing that they need to take the lead. That was corrected during the Clinton administration by James Lee Witt, a former state disaster director who reorganized FEMA to support state needs. Witt's good work was undone during the Bush administration, which put the spectacularly unqualified Michael Brown in charge.
So far, the Sandy response is a textbook model for how things should work. Federal weather forecasters predicted the storm's unusual path. Governors and mayors issued strong evacuation warnings and prepared shelters. Power companies brought in extra crews. The Red Cross and other agencies provided expertise. Federal resources were positioned to support those efforts. And, as a result, innumerable lives were saved.
There's still plenty to be done, and plenty for the government to mess up. It's a safe bet, for instance, that taxpayer money will again subsidize rebuilding in flood-prone areas and restore beach sand that washes away. Insurance coverage will be an issue, as is it after every storm.
But at this moment, the success of the federal/state partnership is making the Obama/Christie duet sound very much on key.
Source: http://www.news.theusalinks.com/2012/10/31/editorial-sandy-clarifies-federal-governments-role/
0 comments:
Post a Comment