Coping

Few Americans understand our federal system anymore. They don't really make distinctions between the roles of the national government, the state governments and the local government. The result is a default and mistaken tendency to blame the federal administration for things that go wrong.

We see it continually during the Presidential campaign rhetoric. How often have you heard the President describing how important his stimulus is for keeping teachers and first-responders on the job? Does it ring a tiny bell for you that the feds don't employ teachers, local school districts do. Do you remember that police and fire-fighters are city workers, not federal bureaucrats?

It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out:

Crippling Storms Plunge Capitol Into Darkness and Heat

Storms can happen at any time. They occur without regard to administration. Response to storms, however, distinguish effective and ineffective leaders. George Bush took a hit for Katrina response, but it was Mayor Ray Nagin and LA Gov Blanco that botched the reaction. The descent into lawlessness is what made the aftermath noteworthy.

Washington DC is a very mixed city. It is a beautiful center of monuments, government buildings, grand hotels and great restaurants. It also is a concentrated slum of ghetto dwellings and festering criminality which has been poorly administered for decades.

If Washington comes apart in the darkness, the fall-out in the election is going to be significant. How is Carney going to spin this for the Bamster? What will Axelrod and Plouffe have to say on the topic. Where will the Messiah be dining tonight?