That was seven years ago; during the Bush Administration's tepid, incompetent, and bungling response to what was then - and arguably still is - the largest single weather-related disaster in the US since the dawn of the 20th century, if not the history of the Republic. Jack Cafferty at that time was regarded as a fairly straight shooter, although he did lean to the right on most issues. And there he was on national television excoriating a President and an Administration for whom he had probably voted. His points were all valid and it would not be surprising that anyone witnessing the ineptitude of that relief effort would walk away believing that the federal government is, in fact, useless and ineffective.
This of course plays into the idealogical argument from the right that government must be shrunk to the size "that it can be drowned in a bathtub" as Grover Norquist says. Allowing government to fail over and over again engenders a sense of hopelessness and disillusionment which depresses turnout and allows supporters of a radical conservative agenda to find their way into public office and strip away the public safety net which has been built over nearly two and a half centuries.
The question I find myself asking, among others, is "what's the point?" What is the ultimate goal behind scraping federal programs and investments that millions of Americans depend on every single day? What's the end game? I ask this honestly because I don't know. Flash forward to this past Wednesday:
That is President Barack Obama, flanked to his right by Governor Chris Christie (R - NJ) in Brigantine, New Jersey on October 31 after touring the damage done to the Jersey Shore two days after Hurricane Sandy made landfall.
First, just consider the optics. Here is a conservative Republican governor of a Northeastern Blue state standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a Democratic president six days before a national election in which the Republican nominee enjoys this same conservative Republican governor as his most enthusiastic and bombastic surrogate. Watch their expressions. They speak of each other in glowing terms with such ease. They smile and laugh along with each other and stand with steely resolve to help the people of this devastated area; and rebuild that community and so many others after a storm of unprecedented destruction tore through that state.
It is striking to see such sincere acknowledgement of leadership and compassion between members of two different and disparate political parties, so close to an election, and watching these two men put politics aside to come together and do the important work of governing. It is particularly striking when you consider that, just twelve days before, Governor Christie offered a blistering criticism of the President:
"He's like a Man wandering around a dark room, hand up against the wall, clutching for the light-switch of leadership, and he just can't find it. And he won't find it in the next eighteen days."
That little gem comes at the three minute mark of the video above. Considering your glowing endorsement following Hurricane Sandy I guess you were right Governor Christie. It didn't take Barack Obama eighteen days to find the "light-switch of leadership," it only took twelve.
The effects of Sandy are tremendous and tragic, to be sure. But the response by the local, state and federal governments has been astounding and well-managed. This is an example of government working well and working efficiently. This is the way it's supposed to be. This is the way it can be; and as evidenced by the past seventy-two hours, this is the way it is.
The choice we face on Tuesday is simple. Do we want a government that works for us and responds to our needs; or do we want a a government that doesn't work at all?
I choose the former.