Sadly I think the voters of New Orleans have received a very difficult lesson about government. Hell we have all received a difficult lesson about government. Competence matters. We have seen completely incompetent federal, state and local leadership.September 11th taught us many things. We now value the first responders. We understand that government, when done right, can be good.
I had the advantage of having read Bill Whittle's TRIBES essay before having read Mahatma's comments, so with that in mind I say this:
After 9/11, people bought hats and t-shirts celebrating those who went in to the fire - the NYPD and FDNY - not FEMA. Why? Because it is important for local government to be competent. Mahatma brings up the point that it is hard to imagine Rudi Guiliani screaming for the responsibility to be placed on someone else's shoulders. Rudi ran to the disaster, not away from it.
9/11 taught us many things about the importance of federal government. I suspect that Katrina will have a similar effect on state and local government. Or, at least, it should.
There are those in leadership roles who get it and there are those that don't. We, the American electorate, have a responsibility to our peers to elevate those who will be competent in a crisis. We can hope that the crisis never comes; but if it does, who would you rather have at the helm?
