Hurricanes and natural disasters are things to be survived and endured. They're not political footballs. At least, they shouldn't be--but now they are. This is the result of a society which has--in very large numbers--succumbed to the illusion that some force "greater than ourselves" is there to take care of us...somehow. It's not up to us to plan as individuals--by purchasing insurance on a private market, or by moving to a different location (unless the risk we assume is worth it, by choice), to name only two examples. It's not even up to our local governments. It's up to "the President" to take care of us and make everything OK in the immediate aftermath of natural disaster. The most bizarre manifestation of this is that a Communist-like, command-and-control organization like FEMA can be expected to somehow accomplish the impossible. When FEMA falls prey to the inefficiency and bumbling of any large-scale government operation, the administration in charge gets the blame--if it's Republican. If the administration is Democratic, its failures are ignored while its leader--the President--is hailed as the greatest man of compassion who ever lived. This shows that, at least to the left-wing politicians who run most of the country, it's not about protecting people at all. It's about looking and feeling important.

The poor Republicans. They can't win under these circumstances. If they try to look humane and humanitarian, the mostly pro-Obama media will verbally assassinate them for daring to take political advantage of a natural disaster. If they go on with business as usual, including their convention, they'll be condemned as callous and insensitive. No matter how FEMA performs, its perceived and actual successes will be attributed to people like the idiotic mayor of New Orleans; while any perceived and actual failures will be attributed to anyone by the name of Bush or with an "R" next to his or her name.

McCain had better be careful. He says he loves service to his fellow man above all else, including the capitalism and individualist freedom he tepidly defends against the socialist and Marxist onslaught of the Obama Democrats. Well, this playing to the vulnerability of people in the midst of disaster is the liberal Democratic game. He's treading on their territory. They are the ones who want to suck the wealth out of "the rich" and the productivity out of society, in the name of altruistic self-sacrifice. They are the ones with the greatest thirst for control over people, and how better to control people than when they're vulnerable to temporary, though strong, natural forces? Nobody could be more haughty or self-righteous about this than Mr. Obama. Is McCain ready to take him on in his own league? How dare he! Keep an eye on how this plays out. It may not be any prettier than the hurricane.