David Jackson, USA TODAY
President Obama and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie view hurricane damage, trade compliments in a meeting with local residents, and speak with reporters.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2012/10/31/christie-obama-hurricane-sandy-new-jersey/1671787/
If America were an opera, the single most frequent refrain would be: "Turn it over to the private sector!"
The sentiment is soooo American. So manly. So lofty. So self-reliant.
But then, when push comes to shove -- awhen The Common Good is really at stake -- the private sector (as marvelous as it can be in its own domain) just doesn't get Big Jobs done.
The federal government is a unique (and essential) depository of "large scale, nationally deployable resources and expertise."
Here is the choice...
America can have one large federally-operated FEMA that stays busy with "sequential" disasters. Or, America can have 50 state-based FEMA-lettes, all of them needlessly (and wastefully) duplicating services provided by all other states, yet not one of those states comes anywhere close to the awesome power and coordinated ability of the federal government.
Yes, "government" has its problems. But government is not The Problem - as nation-destroying Ronald Reagan would have us believe.
The Problem - an, tragically, it is a needless problem - is that some people who oppose and obstruct government, preventing it from discharging proper duties on behalf of "The General Welfare." (These same people, mistaking license for liberty, seem to oppose self-government as well. See Bill McKibben's fine essay, "The Christian Paradox: How a Christian Nation Gets Jesus Wrong" - http://paxonbothhouses.
Yes, "government" has its problems. But government is not The Problem - as nation-destroying Ronald Reagan would have us believe.
The Problem - an, tragically, it is a needless problem - is that some people who oppose and obstruct government, preventing it from discharging proper duties on behalf of "The General Welfare." (These same people, mistaking license for liberty, seem to oppose self-government as well. See Bill McKibben's fine essay, "The Christian Paradox: How a Christian Nation Gets Jesus Wrong" - http://paxonbothhouses.
There is more to life than cockstrutting ideology although talk radio chest thumpers are as opaque to this truth as they are to others.
When push-comes-to-shove, vacuous ideology, operating in a vaccum, is seen for what it is - a will o the wisp.
Until push comes to shove, the rhinestone cowboys wear big boots, huff a lot and yodel "home on the range."
I am reminded of the old saw:
"How can you tell a "political cowboy" from a real one?
With a real cowboy, the shit's on the outside of the boots.
I am reminded of the old saw:
"How can you tell a "political cowboy" from a real one?
With a real cowboy, the shit's on the outside of the boots.
Hurricane Sandy sealed Mitt Romney's fate, sweeping the pragmatic poseur out to sea.
Maybe one of those "private sector" rescue ships will pick him up.
Maybe one of those "private sector" rescue ships will pick him up.
***
The irony in all this is that American conservatives heartily approve public investment is in defense spending, a domain in which they never advocate private sector takeover. I wonder... Do these so-called "conservatives" ever ask why "the private sector" is unable to discharge the one-and-only publicly-financed service they consistently applaud?
***
6:30PM EDT October 31. 2012 - President Obama and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie -- the newest political odd couple -- pledged Wednesday to work together to repair the damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy along the Jersey shore.
The Democratic president praised the Republican governor -- and backer of White House challenger Mitt Romney -- for his "responsive and aggressiveness" in launching efforts to restore power, clean up streets and cities, and produce clean drinking water.
"I just want to thank him for his extraordinary leadership," Obama told reporters after spending more than three hours in damaged parts of the New Jersey. The president also promised federal help to local officials and residents throughout the northeast who suffered major storm damages.
Christie, normally an outspoken critic of Obama's policies, praised his leadership during Hurricane Sandy, saying the president "sprang into action immediately," and has exhibited "concern and compassion" for the residents of New Jersey and the northeast.
"It's been a great working relationship," Christie said.
Obama and Christie spoke after a helicopter tour that included sights of charred houses, sand-packed and water-logged streets, and busted bridges and boardwalks.
At least one Jersey resident showed some puckish political humor; on the sand at Point Pleasant Beach, someone wrote ROMNEY in large letters.
Obama and Christie also traded compliments during a meeting with local residents. "I want to let you know that your governor is working overtime" to help repair the damage, Obama said.
"The entire country has been watching what's been happening -- everybody knows how hard Jersey has been hit," Obama said, adding that his "top priority" is to get power restored.
"The country comes to help because you never know when someone is going to get hit by a disaster," Obama said.
Christie told his constituents, "it's really important to have the president of the United States here."
The governor, wearing a blue polar fleece, slacks, and white sneakers, greeted Obama earlier in the afternoon at the airport in Atlantic City. The president wore khaki pants, a blue windbreaker and brown hiking boots.
The two men and Craig Fugate, administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, boarded Marine One helicopter for their tour. Obama and Christie also planned to speak with local officials about rescue and recovery efforts.
While the Atlantic City boardwalk appeared to be intact, observers saw mountains of sand covering city streets up and down the Jersey coast. Pools and pools of standing water also dotted the landscape.
In Beach Haven, on Long Beach Island, entire streets were underwater. Buildings were boarded up or bore broken windows.
Some of the worst damage occurred at Seaside Heights, where roads were covered by either water or sand. Both the boardwalk and a nearby carnival got smashed by Hurricane Sandy, leaving wood fragments everywhere. A fire that burned down at least eight houses still smolders. Other homes lost their decks to the storm's fury. Abandoned cars remained on a bridge knocked down at one end.
Earlier in the day, Obama visited FEMA headquarters in Washington for another briefing on recovery plans.
The president also called the New York University-Langone Medical Center to thank doctors and nurses for evacuating more than 200 patients as the storm approached, said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
One topic Carney would not address: What impact, if any, will the storm have on Obama's fortunes on Election Day next Tuesday. Carney said the president is dealing with governors, mayors and other local officials "regardless" of political party.
"This is a time to focus on what was a devastating storm and the terrible aftermath of that storm," Carney said. "This is not a time for politics."
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