What I'm Missing

I never knew much about Rudy Giuliani, but I know he's missing now.

After 9/11 I pretty much saw him for the first time. He was everywhere, yelling through bullhorns, cheering people on, getting things back together and, well, acting the way I thought a leader should. I don't usually have much use for Republicans, but he seemed to be the right sort of person for what was an incredibly trying time. He took the tragedy, and made us feel better.

There is no such person emerging out of the New Orleans mess.

It's easy to fault Bush, but I see this as a breakdown of ALL government, not just the federal government. One thing I heard over and over from the people stuck at the convention center was that there was nobody in charge. Anyone involved in the effort, anyone, could have buoyed the hopes of the people, but no one did.

The mayor, I think, is in Baton Rouge blaming others, the governor is wringing her hands and blaming others, the head of FEMA is fulfilling his role as a bureaucrat and is out of his depth, and everyone near the scene seems to be waiting for someone else to take the reins and handle the situation.

No one is stepping up, and I blame them all.

If my mayor tells me to move somewhere, I'd expect him to have it ready for me. If my governor needs troops, I'd expect her to have them standing by. If they need federal assistance, I expect them to get it, not issue press conferences.

But most of all I'd expect someone to be there like Guilian was for the people of New York and the nation. If I toss the ball to you and you drop it, my job isn't done.

These people need help and assistance, but most of all they need reassurance that things are being handled. Nobody is giving them that assurance, no Democrat, no Republican, no Independent. The government's failed its social contract, and I think what we're seeing here is that for close to fifty years the parties have been playing to their special interests instead of to the people.

Corrupt governments don't form in five or ten or twenty years, they evolve slowly when we let them. I think this tragedy goes all the way back to the late twenties, following the last disaster in New Orleans. Both parties have had chances to fix things, and both have failed.

And no one is standing up now, giving the poor people trapped on islands surrounded by filth any hope at all. They're all just playing politics, and it makes me sick.