Most of today's coverage as should be the case was focused on the tracking of Hurricane Irene and Meet The Press appropriately checked in with the top state and city officials, getting governors and mayors on the line.
Natural disasters should be the one area in which we do not play politics, but when asking politicians it's unavoidable. Mr. Christie clearly, and sensibly we might add, stated that the number one task is saving human life and that everything else is secondary. When asked about the damage, he anticipated costs being in the billions, if not 10s of billions of dollars. Governor Martin O'Malley (D-MD) said that the Obama Administration has been great in their response and support. Governor O'Donnell in Virginia said that state officials have been working closely with FEMA and taking all the necessary precautions. So it's good to know that FEMA is on the case with a timely response. Lastly, mayor Cory Booker (D-Newark, NJ) stressed that it is these natural emergencies that make it all the more important to invest in our infrastructure to make it better and more prepared for such occurrences.
With regard to preparedness, David Brooks seems to think that the public will tune out if officials make too much of warnings in these cases. There may be a spec of truth to that, but when it comes to homes and lives, people heed hard warnings when it comes to natural disasters. Plus as Ms. Gangel said, which gave us this week's title, is that no politician wants to get Katrina'ed. And since then, politicians are on notice for these things as Michael Eric Dyson pointed out.
So where is the politics? Curiously, this was not mentioned or discussed on the program, but earlier this week House Majority leader Eric Cantor said that if there is federal money that has to serve disaster relief, there would have to be spending cuts someplace else. Mr. Cantor is the worst of what has become of the American politic.
In the aforementioned assessments from top officials, not one Democrat or Republican alike mentioned 'expense' in dealing with these problems. And yet, a Washington politician can make a callous statement like that with no consequence. One reason for this, and why it wasn't mentioned today, could be that people are beginning to take what Eric Cantor says not seriously. The statement was simply irresponsible because it doesn't even vaguely consider the human condition and potential hardship for people.
Slipping into Presidential politics, also earlier this week Congressman Ron Paul said that the Federal Government has no reason to be involve with relief efforts and that it should solely fall upon the states to deal with. Mr. Paul's dogmatic philosophy to the role of the Federal Government is distressing because it leaves people with the feeling that if something like a natural disaster happens, there would be serious limits to what can be done to help and leaves people with an empty feeling of insecurity. It's not a President would respond and that's why he'll only ever get a small percentage of the vote.
And to join the chorus and extend the metaphor, it was Mitt Romney who was hit with a hurricane in the form of Rick Perry's candidacy. Mr. Perry is now the Republican front-runner with 29% of the vote. So how would a President Romney respond in a time of crisis. Well, he was laying low on the campaign trail this summer and he saw a Rick Perry entrance into the race for weeks. Yet, he did nothing except for proclaiming that corporations are people too, and he's instantly been overtaken. David Brooks summarized that the Republican electorate has been waiting for Perry because of Romney's shaky stance on issues.
There was also mention of Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman's statement that he's a center-right candidate and that's where the country is, not to the extreme right like some of his primary opponents and not too far left like President Obama. Mr. Huntsman had also stated that he believes in climate change and the science that shows it as well as evolution. That the theory of evolution is now equaled in importance to intelligent design in Mr. Perry's book, let alone anyone's, is truly befuddling to the writer of this column. However, here is what's really scary.
David Brooks said that 15% of the Republican electorate is in line with the statements of Mr. Huntsman, leaving the other 85% to be far-right in the Perry, Bachmann, Santorum camp. The reason that it is scary is because for Mr. Perry and Ms. Bachmann it all comes down to one thing: money. In the case, for example, of Mr. Santorum, it is much more about the social issues and that's actually why he lost his Senate seat. He wants government out of people's lives but wants to dictate how women conduct their own personal health.
Look at it, Follow it, and take note of the consequences; it's the money, especially for Mr. Perry given his record in Texas where he'll say he's created a third of the new jobs in this country. However, Texas is 47th in the country in average wages earned, the biggest employer in the state is the Federal Government, and the education efficiency ranks in the bottom 5 of states as well. Those low wages and minimum wage paying jobs are the result of the leverage and influence that large corporations have with Mr. Perry to create conditions that do not improve our labor force and suppresses it. It's not so much of an indictment of Mr. Perry as it is common knowledge if you follow politics.
Lastly, there's the gift that keeps on giving, Dick Cheney. "Heads exploding all over Washington," is the only true takeaway quote, and from what was previewed on today's program, Mr. Cheney spares no one. Colin Powell's resignation was for the best; Condoleezza Rice was a train wreck; CIA Director George Tenet couldn't hack it. Who was the one correct in all cases - VP Dick Cheney. But remember that George Bush awarded George Tenet the Medal of Freedom, the highest award a civilian can receive. The Bush Administration (Mr. Cheney) sent Colin Powell to the United Nations General Assembly to make the case for a war that he didn't believe in and disagreed vehemently with Mr. Cheney on Iraq. And Ms. Rice was the foil to Mr. Cheney on advising the President, and was closer to the President than the Vice President. We look forward to reading about Mr. Cheney's own reality.
New York Times Columnist, David Brooks; Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson; Washington Correspondent for the BBC, Katty Kay; and National Correspondent for NBC'S TODAY, Jamie Gangel
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