Biden fails crisis management in Hawaii; DeSantis shines in Florida By Michael McKenna
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/sep/9/biden-fails-crisis-management-in-hawaii-desantis-s/
One legitimate measurement of the readiness and capability of a candidate to be president is how he or she responds to a crisis.
In a moment of crisis, the core of human beings is on display. Some people wither; others shine. Either way, it is always a peek into the foundation of the person — his or her value system.
We had two examples of this recently, as both President Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had the opportunity to respond to crises, in the wake of the devastating fire on Maui and Hurricane Idalia, respectively.
Unfortunately, the president embarrassed himself. While the fires were burning, Mr. Biden remained on the beach and in the beach house of a wealthy donor; he could not even manage an encouraging or sympathetic comment or two to the Maui survivors. When he finally did get around to visiting Hawaii, he compared the fires — which destroyed an entire community and may have killed more than 100 people — to a small kitchen fire he once experienced.
It will not surprise you to learn that the president has managed, in the retelling, to turn that kitchen fire into an inferno that almost killed his wife and his cat, and destroyed his 1967 Corvette. The president wasn’t clear about which loss would have been the greater personal tragedy.
He did this while talking to survivors who, in many instances, were and are certain that their loved ones are dead among the ashes.
In comparison, Mr. DeSantis acquitted himself pretty well during Hurricane Idalia, which was a category 3 hurricane when it made landfall near Keaton Beach, Florida.
He made a prompt and decisive decision to leave the presidential campaign trail to prepare for the hurricane. The thorough preparations of his administration meant that Floridians had roads cleared, power restored in record time, aid delivered to affected communities, and bridges and airports returned to operation quickly.
The DeSantis administration’s around-the-clock work eased the burden for those in the storm’s path and let families focus on getting back on their feet. The governor even fed his citizens, serving them barbecue, Chick-fil-A and, of course, Waffle House.
Apart from that, Mr. DeSantis radiated calm and confidence. In the event of a natural disaster or any other crisis, those qualities are essential in a leader, in part because they help people summon their own strength and their own confidence.
After he took care of the situation in Florida, Mr. DeSantis asked a few questions about the federal response in Hawaii:
“Do you trust the federal government to help, seeing what happened in Hawaii just a few weeks ago and in East Palestine a few months ago. I think that Maui is a total catastrophe, what happened there. … It’s interesting how incurious our corporate media is about what happened in Maui.
“I don’t see them interviewing parents who can’t find their kids. … So, that was a total disaster, really, really heartbreaking to hear some of the stories, even though they’re not being publicized.”
In comparison, Mr. Biden used the wildfire on Maui to press for his preferred suite of policies to address climate change. That’s especially distressing, because the fires there were almost certainly caused by the inability of humans to properly clear vegetation around power lines.
That function, which used to be routine, has become less common as utilities have been pressed by their states (including Hawaii) to spend more of their time and resources on the more politically favored development of wind and solar energy generation.
No one wants or needs politicians who use natural disasters or human tragedies to press their preferred policies. What people do need is executive competence.
Can our leaders arrange the resources under their direction in a timely fashion to ensure that what is needed and what is provided are approximately congruent? Can they perform under pressure, and can they instill confidence in the populace?
In Hawaii, the federal and state governments — and their leaders — failed.
In Florida, Mr. DeSantis succeeded.
Crises expose character. Voters should think about that — and the experiences in Hawaii and Florida at the end of August and what it says about the people in charge — when they make decisions about who should lead us.
• Michael McKenna, a columnist for The Washington Times, is president of MWR Strategies. He was most recently a deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the Office of Legislative Affairs at the White House and can be reached at mike@mwrstrat.com.
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