Today's Lessons from the Sage of Minnesota

As ever, I am jealous of Lileks' talent to just dash off sensible screedy goodness. The best part is his two central lessons of the Katrina affair.

Lesson One:

If we learned anything we can take away, it’s this: you’re on your own. At least keep an emergency kit on hand, the sort of thing Tom Ridge proposed, and which made the smart set hardy har har because it contained duct tape. Don’t rely on the government. Four years after 9/11, it’s apparent that some local governments are not well-oiled machines when it comes to disasters – more like a box of sand and busted gears. Blame for that can be promiscuously distributed.

Lesson Two:

the next terrorist attack will not unite us for a warm hug-filled fortnight. The hard left won’t wait 24 hours before blaming President Bush, and the country will enjoy the sight of prominent pundits angrier at the President than the men who nuked Des Moines. If an attack should happen during the term of President Hillary Clinton, they’ll still blame Bush – and if she wishes to retain her moderate credentials, she’ll be canny enough to repudiate the lot. They’ll be stunned. They’ll be hurt. After all the free-lancing hating they did out of the goodness of their hearts! Where can they turn now?

I think he's being incredibly generous. At the next terrorist attack (or natural disaster), the moonbat left will start blaming Bush just as soon as they can draw breath, regardless of whether he's still president or it's twenty years later. He will always be blamed for problems from now until doomsday.

We'd better get used to it.

posted by Harry Callahan at 11:33 PM

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