Don't be fooled

President Obama has generated dozens of directives to FEMA (e.g. "No red tape, no delays") in Hurricane Sandy's aftermath. Mainstream media allege all this has been a personal sacrifice Obama is making instead of time he could have spent campaigning.

The media gleefully helps Obama portray a federal contrast to Katrina recovery (forget that New York's local disaster recovery is already a world class benchmark, while Louisiana's and New Orlean's efforts were more than third-world chaos).  Are we dumb enough to think such staged theatrics are apolitical during his difficult re-election campaign?

Have we been too distracted to remember the nation's horrific loss of face over the administration's Benghazi treachery, pathetic excuses and ongoing coverup? No, certainly not.

But the lies do not even end there. How well is the hurricane recovery actually progressing in NYC?  Unless you live where I do, you probably have not read about this morning's press conference on Staten Island.  Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand attended to highlight the needs of the hard-hit borough.

Despite efforts of the mainstream media, do these complaints not remind of human anguish after Katrina?

“Because the devastation in Staten Island, the lack of a response,” Mr. Molinaro said to explain his comment to NBC after the press conference. “You know, I went to a shelter Monday night after the storm. People were coming in with no socks, with no shoes. They were in desperate need. Their housing was destroyed. They were crying."  - Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro

 "[I]t’s disgusting, it really is,” State Senator Andy Lanza said, criticizing the city for giving the go-ahead to the New York City Marathon this weekend and the focus on pumping the water out of the East River tunnels. “We’re talking about getting water of the tunnel. Let’s get the water out of the tunnel tomorrow, let’s get the people out of the water today. There’ve been thousands of people who have been displaced. There are people who are cold, who are hungry, who are without a place to go, and looking for warmth. There are people still trapped. Yet we’re talking about marathons and tunnels. I walked on the rooftop of a house yesterday, I stepped on it because the debris that surrounded it was level with the rooftop. That’s what happened here on Staten Island.” - NY State Senator Andy Lanza

"Families displaced, families wondering where their grandparents are. Are they at a shelter? Are they at a hospital? Or are they gone? That’s what we should be focusing on. I think it would be very misguided to have this marathon. I think that the people of Staten Island will see this, unfortunately…as another shot against them, that the City Hall is more worried about getting everything running again for Manhattan and making everything look like it’s back to normal. We’re not back to normal and we’re not going to be back to normal for a long time.” -  NY State Senator Andrew Lanza

Submarines are always silent and strange.