Alicia, Ike and Bobby

Hurricane Ike is being compared to Hurricane Alicia in 1983. During Alicia I sat on my condo balcony near the Astrodome, watching the roof peel off of buildings across the courtyard. Around sunset I was wading up to my chest to get to Aruba, my boat at Clear Lake. The photo at left shows Alicia's effect on the Corinthian Yacht Club.

I saw an interview this morning with a lady who stayed in Galveston and was rescued by cooperation between a National Guard helicopter and a firefighter team working on the ground.

Most of us react to that by thinking, "Wow, was she stupid!" I think "Wow, was she criminal!" She committed reckless endangerment just as much as a drunk driver. A rescuer had to go down the wire from that chopper; several others had to wade into water filled with unknown holes and jagged objects. Sure, they're trained for this, but every time they go there's a risk. This fool made them go through it one extra unnecessary time. If one of them died trying to get to her, would she be guilty of manslaughter?

Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana, is showing real leadership. He's visible, sounds like he knows what is going on, is actively in charge, and is striking a good balance between caution and optimism. There were two problems with the Gustav evacuation: no portable showers for three days at the shelters in Monroe, and mix-ups in food stamp distribution in New Orleans. Jindal's comment: "When Ike is past there will be time to find out who failed to follow the plan, and there will be consequences for the agencies and the individuals involved." There is a narrow line between genuine investigation and a witch hunt to look good politically. Either one, though introduces the concept of accountability which has been woefully absent in government for a long time.

Jindal has a lot of political viewpoints and proposals that I don't like, and that brings up the question: "Would you rather have a leader who is competent that you disagree with, or a leader who is incompetent that you agree with?" I come down for the former. I am not so confident in my views that I think it will do all that much damage if somebody does a good job of implementing something else. On the other hand, incompetent peopld can do major damage even if they don't implement anything.