Profit from tragedy

The standard line is to avoid politicizing a tragedy. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Ari Ezra Waldman asks how does one tell if a politician is actually working to provide relief from a tragedy or merely working for political gain? Was Obama being political when he left the campaign to coordinate relief from the White House? Was Romney being political when he staged an event in Ohio (a swing state) rather than in New Jersey or New York where the help was needed (but are safely in the Obama column). What about the various state and local candidates who bought more ads on news channels knowing they would reach more people who were glued to the news?

Waldman considers ways we might tell whether the candidate is acting out of political calculation and gain.

Is the candidate being selfish or selfless? Since this is a description of character and not behavior, it is hard to tell.

Does the candidate pose and posture or offer solutions? This test falls apart when one considers the House GOP who pass piles of bills they know have no chance of being considered by the Senate.

Perhaps we should consider all candidates with names currently on a ballot somewhere as in it for personal gain. That's way too easy and a pretty low view of humanity. There are some decent politicians out there.

Is the candidate attempting to learn from the tragedy or profit from it? If learning from it he might help prevent a similar tragedy in the future. This question has some merit and as an example Waldman contrasts Gov. Cuomo and Gov. Romney.

Cuomo didn't rip into the GOP, but did talk about dealing with "hundred year storms every two years" and that recovery has to include solutions to protect New York city and state. These kinds of storms are now a reality.

In contrast, all of Romney's actions have been about how he might profit from the tragedy.