In the coming weeks and months, the president of the United States is going to be judged on his ability to marshal resources and coordinate federal, state, local and private efforts to rebuild communities damaged by a historic natural disaster.
His political opponents, particularly his Republican rival Gov. Romney, are sure to seize on every statement, tout every delay, doing all they can to paint the president as unfit for the job. If the murder of US diplomats is fair grist for the attack mill, don't think storm victims won't be exploited for political gain.
Ironically, Gov. Romney's already had a chance to prove is disaster-recovery prowess on the national stage.
In September of 2005, when the scope of destruction New Orleans and the resources needed to rebuild were finally becoming clear to persons in Washington, DC, Republicans in Congress quickly began to worry. Not about how to get people back in homes or spark up a little electricity, but about how to keep officials in a Democratic state and city from "wasting" and "abusing" all that precious dough.
Senators Jeff Sessions and Lamar Alexander called on then-president Bush to appoint an outside overseer, someone with experience in both business and government, to make sure reconstruction efforts were coordinated and efficient. They made no secret of their candidate, a leader who'd proven his ability to turn around tough situations with his history in the Olympics.
Yes, Gov. Romney was tapped to be Katrina Czar, back when Republicans had czars. Seeing an opportunity to shine on the national stage, Romney seemed amenable to the idea.
Briefly.
Before long, however, it became clear that the recovery was going to be a long, not necessarily fruitful endeavor, and Romney quickly demurred. In a speech to the Manhattan Institute just days after Session introduced his resolution calling for an outside overseer, Romney insisted he was "not a candidate for anything besides governor. I love my job. Time will tell what the future holds."
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Were Mitt Romney truly the leader his family and campaign professionals claim him to be, a man who yearns to offer his superior organizational talents in service to the country he loves, such a position would have been a natural fit. One which could have dovetailed with his duties as Massachusetts governor and served as a perfect launch to a presidential campaign.
Only one problem, though: it was hard. The job promised little glory and much danger of criticism. Already by the end of September, it was becoming clear that the word "Katrina" might not be a political plus for presidentially-minded Republicans.
So the superstar businessman/governor/crisis resolver, the GOP's perfect "man for the job," decided the job wasn't going to do the man any good and declined.
Can't blame him, really. The position would likely have sucked up years needed to ramp up a national campaign and was surely going to involve a lot of ugly compromises and public disappointment. Forgoing the honor and potential opprobrium was a wise move for an upwardly-ambitious politician.
Still, over the next week, when you hear the governor inevitably downplay and decry the president's moves to provide assistance and begin long term planning for recovery in the wake of Sandy, remember: this guy staring earnestly at the camera telling you he could do better once had a chance to prove it.
He declined.