As the magnitude of damage done by Hurricane Harvey becomes clear, the commentariat class is already weighing in on President Donald Trump's response. And so far, so good.
The Trump White House appears to be doing everything right. The president has been hyper-attentive, and his administration seems to be leading the way. No one, perhaps aside from a few of the president's most obstinate critics, have suggested that Trump is not on top of this. I wonder if that is a product of Trump's instincts, Chief of Staff General John Kelly's focus and authority, or a combination of the above. Regardless, this disaster is still happening. Recovery hasn't started yet.
Trump is under the microscope of the biased media, and it is eager to pounce on any flaws in his response to Harvey. For now, the most credible critique comes from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott who said: "I give FEMA a grade of A+, all the way from the president down."
But the question on everyone's mind is how long will the president be able to maintain his poise. Will Trump pull a Trump and spoil the moment? Will he spit out a jaw-dropping, demoralizing non-sequitur insult at exactly the wrong time? Who will he pick a fight with? Hmmm.
Anyway, I thought this might be a good time to consult my friend and business partner, former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour, who was one of the heroes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill.
When I asked him about some of the most important lessons learned, one of Barbour's first thoughts was that "Texas will be recovering from this storm for years to come. The state and local governments have to work together and the governor has to lead. Nobody else can lead."
There haven't been any blunders, wild tweets or pointless distractions yet. The Trump administration is off to a good start. But this is just the beginning.
Editorial on 08/29/2017