Zandar's Thought Of The Day

The phrase "Obama's Katrina" has been thrown around a lot prior to this point, irresponsibly.

The government response to Lake Palin however being this President's Hurricane Katrina moment is absolutely incorrect.  Obama has the opportunity to prove that government can be the solution when it is needed to be the solution.  Steve Benen:

In 2005, Bush failed to take seriously warnings of an imminent natural disaster, and was slow to act after the devastation had begun. The storm killed more 1,500, left hundreds of thousands homeless, and destroyed much of an American coastline.

In 2010, BP was responsible for a disaster that wasn't natural at all. The company didn't warn government officials of an imminent threat; it did the opposite, assuring agencies that this was a manageable problem that BP was equipped to deal with.

Nevertheless, within one day of the explosion at the rig, the Obama administration had dispatched officials and the Coast Guard to the scene. When the problem became more acute, the president dispatched Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson to the area to help oversee efforts with federal, state, and local officials. President Obama will himself visit the coast tomorrow.

Everything that can be expected of government officials is being done. Media Matters published a timeline of events, and if there's evidence of the administration taking a misstep, it's hiding well.

The magnitude of this disaster is proof that government is sometimes necessary to help.  This is one of those seminal moments when only government can step in and mobilize resources.  And Obama has done so.  Sunday's visit is going to be vitally important, and you're going to see the difference between a Democratic administration and a Republican one.

Obama's got this.