An Object Lesson In Disaster Relief

I think it's instructive for those who blamed George W. Bush for failure to respond to the Katrina hurricane disaster in Louisiana promptly to see how Obama's dealing with a similar crisis in Haiti.  Surprise: It's just not that easy to mobilize a national effort at bringing desperately needed relief to a population that has lost everything - including infrastructure:

Haiti Relief: Anger Mounts Among Desperate Haitians Over Supplies Stuck at Airport
Haiti's Streets Called 'Tinderbox' as Hunger, Thirst and Anger Grows
By Kate Snow, Dan Harris, and Brinda Adhikari, ABC News

Tensions are becoming dangerously high on the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as increasingly desperate Haitians search for food and water while tons of supplies remain stuck at the country's airport.

"What's going on? We can't even breathe! Who is helping us?" a man cried out today to an ABC News camera crew. Wearing a yellow bandana over his face and surrounded by other young and angry men, he said, "It takes one night to get the U.S. troops here, you know. It takes just a second for the military to get here."

"We're waiting, we're waiting for three or four days. Just cannot do nothing," another Haitian man said. "The president is staying at the airport while he does nothing for us."

"People have been almost fighting for water," aid worker Fevil Dubien said as he distributed water from a truck in a northern Port-au-Prince neighborhood.

ABC News has witnessed looting of damaged buildings in the capital with people walking off with boxes of T-shirts, a cabinet and kitchen appliance along with food and water. [link]

Despite the efforts of the Obama administration to mount a massive relief effort, thus far that effort has failed miserably.  But he won't be blamed.

And he shouldn't be.  This stuff takes time, whether you're willing to accept it or not.

Maybe it's time to reflect ...