Promise Keepers

We didn't need to hear from President Obama to know that America would immediately step up to the plate and do what America always does in helping to ameliorate pain and suffering when disaster strikes throughout the world.  Yes, I suppose it's comforting to a hear an American  president try and reassure the victims and remind us all, that has human beings, we have an obligation to care for and help one another.  But in light of past promises made, and broken, by Barack Obama, i.e., no lobbyists in my administration, my administration will be the most open and transparent, won't sign any congressional earmarks into law, don't want to be in the car business, health care debate will air on C-SPAN, Obamacare will not increase the deficit, taxes will not go up on families making less than $250,000, allow five days of public comment before bills are signed, well you get the picture.  I don't wish to make light of a serious situation, but if I were a Haitian awaiting relief on the tarmac in Port-au-Prince, I would be consoled knowing the spirit and generosity of the Americans people were on its way, rather than rely on the politically expedient and fleeting words of Barack Obama.    

I don't know about you, but I'm already tired of the way some in the media are portraying the White House response to the Haitian earthquake as somehow unique or extraordinary for the United States.  Just because Hurricane Katrina temporarily overwhelmed the capacities and the resources of an inept mayor and governor, followed quickly by a bungled response from federal authorities through FEMA, doesn't mean that  we don't know how to do disaster response.  The United States of America is king of disaster and humanitarian relief.  This is what we do best of all.  We will spend more, send more, and do more than any other country on the planet to help Haiti recover, and we would have done so, and will continue to do so, well after Barack Obama passes into obscurity.