"Moderate" Hopes for Rational Response to Katrina



While its hard not to be cynical about politicians, even on a Friday, I did see two articles today that gave me some amount of hope:

Pundita weights in on two normally partisan sources' "surprisingly objective" analyses of, respectively, what went wrong and how to pay for it:

If NOW and the Wall Street Journal editorial board are willing to chuck partisan politics long enough to take an objective look at fundamental issues, this is a sign that the rest of us should try.

On the flip side, Our Friend Andy links to a csmonitor article about how moderates may hold the trump card in ongoing discussions in Congress:

In a highly polarized House and Senate, moderates with a record of cooperation with the other side of the aisle are leading probes into government's response to hurricane Katrina. Informally, they're also working to broker bipartisan solutions for how to pay cleanup costs expected to exceed $200 billion.

While not exactly reason for celebration, it is certainly a trend that should be encouraged. As Pundita says:

If Americans can manage to stay on track, this will not only do the United States a world of good; it will also serve as a model for peoples around the world who've never known anything but a raw deal and crocodile tears from their political leaders.

Even those of us who've at least had a half-baked deal, and crocodile smiles, would look forward to that!

Posted: Fri - September 30, 2005 at 12:13 PM        

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