Tag Archives: Hurricane Ian

Let’s set differences aside

Media representatives have been yapping in the past few days about the “political differences” that exist between President Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

They point out that the differences might stand in the way of the federal government rushing aid to the stricken state in the wake of Hurricane Ian’s destruction.

Let’s set the differences aside … shall we?

DeSantis is being talked about as a potential 2024 Republican candidate for president. Joe Biden is likely to run for re-election.

First things first. President Biden has some comforting to deliver to beleaguered fellow Americans. One of them happens to be his potential rival, DeSantis.

The two men will meet later today. They likely will talk repeatedly in the weeks to come as the feds seek to help Florida rebuild from the destruction that Ian brought to the state’s Gulf Coast.

There will be time for the political stuff. I am not interested in hearing about the differences between these men. I just want them to reach out to each other in search of common ground to repair the lives shattered by Mother Nature’s wrath.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

This is how POTUS should respond

At the risk of riling some of the Trumpkin Trolls who read this blog, I want to offer a brief word describing what I believe is an essential difference between the way Joe Biden handles his presidential duties and the way his immediate predecessor handled them.

Hurricane Ian hammered Florida with Category 4-level wind and storm surge. It marched across that state, headed out over water to regain its strength and then pummeled the South Carolina coast with more devastating wind and water.

President Biden’s response? He declared a federal disaster for Florida and well might do the same for South Carolina. He vowed to be there for all of those who suffered from nature’s wrath. Biden made a specific point that Republicans and Democrats alike will be treated with compassion from the government.

OK. How does that compare with how Donald J. Trump handled national tragedies? The wildfires that destroyed thousands of acres in California in 2019 became grist for Trump to lecture the state on how it should manage its forests. He would routinely castigate Democratic officials — who didn’t support him in 2016 — for their failures.

Biden, who didn’t carry either Florida or South Carolina in 2020, did not go there. He is president of all the United States, he reminded us … and he intends to carry out his response to the tragic hurricane accordingly.

There you have it. We elected a president who understands the unwritten job description he must follow.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com