California's WIldfires and a Caring, Effective Government Response

I live in northern California, where we've had our own issues this year with wildfires browning the skies and thinning the forests, but the fires going on right now in San Bernadino, Los Angeles and San Diego Counties are epic in their scale and in the devastation they are sowing. At last count about 400,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. Many of these people will have no home to return to when the fires finally die down. The personal and the economic devastation will certainly be on a par with that of Hurricane Katrina. But, even as the disaster continues to spread here and as firefighters battle gamely against an overpowering enemy, something is very different in California today than we have experienced in many recent large scale natural disasters - there has been a swift, concerted and ongoing effort to address the fire, the needs of the displaced, and to make things right going forward while working to minimize the damage. Achieving all of this coordination involves thousands of officials and staff, but at the helm is someone who is making a huge difference, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Governor Schwarzenegger's response has been a very personal one. Say what you will about politicians in America today, but he has not lost his connection to the people of California, all of the people. As hundreds of thousands of citizens and residents of this state emerge from the ruins of this devastation, their lives will be just a little bit better because of how all of this was handled, and Governor Schwarzenegger understands that. Anyone who has ever suffered loss, tragedy, knows the worst things to feel are alone, hopeless, ignored. How many office holders in this country today really take that to heart? I hope it's more than a handful, but I am certainly glad that one of the people responding like a human being and also as someone with the power (and the duty) to make things happen, personally, is the Governor of my state.

You could sum up Governor Schwarzenegger in a lot of ways and using a lot of measures. For example, he recently finished the annual bill signing ritual earlier in October, and you could tally up the signed bills and vetoed bills and figure out what they meant about how much he cares about certains issues, or not. In fact, he had many public events planned for this week dealing with some of those issues, but he cancelled them all to get down to southern California and very personally deal with a major disaster. He has stayed there, trying not to neglect some other important events going on while making sure all resources are brought to bear on this fire.

Governor Schwarzenegger and his familiy live in southern California. Many of their friends also live there. But, when he picked up phones himself to make sure patients weren't stranded and hospital beds were found for them, when he ensured every firefighting resource, including moving folks from border watching to taking care of the people of this state who are in need; when he stayed, and stayed and took charge and walked through a much more organized and comfortable stadium refuge in San Diego than had been seen in New Orleans and asked people how they were doing and what they might need, it was apparent this was not about how close this hit to HIS home, but to the homes of the people of California. I'm sure some might argue putting on a strong state offensive to address the fires and their victims helps minimize any lingering inadequacies in our federal ability to deal with disasters, and there is probably some truth in that, but what it really shows is empathy and leadership. To those to whom much is given, much is expected. Governor Schwarzenegger has exemplified that credo in this very tragic situation. That he has also managed to very efficienctly run this state since being elected, that he has taken responsibilities for political missteps and miscalculations, and that he has also at times had to adopt a 'take no prisoners' approach to negotiating major issues speaks to how complex a job it really is to govern well.

Ten years from now not many people will remember which specific bills this Governor signed, which measures he supported or opposed, or whether he fulfilled every ambition he set out to achieve as Governor, but we will all remember that he made not perfunctory or obligatory or photo op visits to people in need, but real visits in which he both wanted to see what more was needed and also just offered comfort to people in distress; and that he took personal responsibility for both the big picture of getting the fires under control and managing the aftermath, and for the little details, like making sure there were enough hsopital beds and that those in most medical need got to them first and that people weren't stranded in discomfort but were well sheltered and cared for in time of need.