Analysis: Politicians Learn One Lesson From Katrina: Politics Can Backfire

WASHINGTON (AP) _ An act of God levels an American city, and political leaders squabble. Why does this sorry piece of history need to repeat itself? <br/><br/>The political dustup over a killer tornado

Friday, May 11th 2007, 3:08 pm

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ An act of God levels an American city, and political leaders squabble. Why does this sorry piece of history need to repeat itself?

The political dustup over a killer tornado in Greensburg, Kan., was a sad reminder of Hurricane Katrina and how quickly leaders forget to lead. But it ended quickly, mercifully _ a sign perhaps that at least one lesson was learned from the botched relief effort in 2005 that helped put the Bush presidency in a tailspin.

While it's too soon to judge whether the response to the May 4 tornado will be effective enough to defy the public's distrust of government, we do know this: Politicians in Washington and Kansas didn't want to be caught playing politics with tragedy.

In this era of partisan gridlock, that's progress.

``The ... fingerpointing and back-and-forth is not helpful to anybody,'' Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius told The Associated Press after clashing with the White House this week.

The tempest began when the White House announced plans for President Bush to tour Greensburg, where nine people were killed during the tornado. Sebelius, a Democrat, said she planned to talk to Bush about how National Guard deployments to Iraq had hampered the response.

``I don't think there is any question if you are missing trucks, Humvees and helicopters that the response is going to be slower,'' she said on Monday. ``The real victims here will be the residents of Greensburg, because the recovery will be at a slower pace.''

Republican and Democratic governors alike have raised similar concerns for months about the war draining resources their states need to help people recover from disasters. This time, the White House fired back. Press Secretary Tony Snow suggested that Sebelius failed to request help from the federal government.

``As far as we know, the only thing the governor has requested are FM radios,'' Snow said.

All were echoes of Katrina _ as thousands of New Orleans residents waited for rescue and assistance, the Democratic mayor and Louisiana governor accused the federal government of incompetence, and the White House lobbed the same charge at local Democrats. Both sides, tragically, were right.

In Kansas, citizens of a flattened town were too busy picking up the pieces to form an opinion about the political fight.

``I've got too many other things to think about,'' said John Fleener while salvaging family possessions from a demolished house. National Guard troops worked a few blocks down the road to clear debris.

At another ravaged house, Cecilia Fleming was helping her daughter salvage what she could from her house. Fleming, a supporter of the Iraq war, said volunteers were filling any gaps caused by the Guard deployment.

``Even if the National Guard doesn't get enough equipment in place, there are lots of people that will bring in equipment for them to use,'' she said.

It was the same after Katrina, when millions of people donated money, time or services to help the Gulf Coast recover when it became apparent that every level of government had failed.

The Wichita Eagle, in an editorial defending Sebelius in the spat with Bush, spoke to the willingness of individuals. ``The past week's perfect storm of bad weather in Kansas proves her point _ though Kansans and other Americans are already showing that where there's a need to help a community, a way to help will be found,'' the editorial said.

On the same day he criticized Sebelius, White House spokesman Snow backed off and acknowledged that the state had requested several items that the federal government had supplied _ and not just the radios.

Sebelius backed off, too, saying the Guard was adequately equipped to deal with the tornado.

In the interview Friday, Sebelius said flooding near Topeka raised the real prospect early in the week that the Guard would be needed in two different sections of Kansas. That would have been too much for the depleted Guard, she said, but fortunately the rain stopped.

The governor said she doesn't regret raising the issue amid the crisis, though she's aware of the danger of politicizing a tragedy.

``I think it's unfortunate if the partisan diatribe takes over a discussion. On the other hand, I also feel that in the midst of any situation where people's lives and well-being are impacted, it's important to talk about what's really going on,'' she said in the telephone interview.

Sebelius pledged to help Greensburg rise from the rubble and perhaps be a model for energy-efficiency communities. ``We have an opportunity of having the greenest town in rural America,'' she said.

As the politicians' promises for a grand Gulf Coast recovery remained unfulfilled, especially in New Orleans, the citizens of Greensburg can only hope that their leaders learned all the hard lessons from Katrina.