The newest American hero
Posted at 11:11 AM on December 29, 2010
by Bob Collins
(5 Comments)
Filed under: Politics
It's fairly amazing how many politicians don't understand that a snowstorm can make -- or break -- a political career. Mike Dukakis found the former out with his performance during the great blizzard of 1978 (which makes anything this year seem like flurries). Current New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is probably finding out the latter this week.
The governor of New Jersey has spent much of the East Coast blizzard in Florida. He'll She'll pay a price for that (Chris Christie was the guy on 60 Minutes last week warning us about the states' deficit problem)
Meet America's newest hero -- Newark Mayor Cory Booker -- who has been tweeting while he's been out helping his city dig out. He's been showing up at people's houses to help shovel, he's been delivering diapers to someone who tweeted they needed them, he's been directing city resources based partly on where residents said they were most needed.
Newark, which is about the size of St. Paul, is no paradise, to be sure. But this week it's got what a lot of people want.
Comments (5)
I believe that Governor Christie is male.
You're right. I was delivering diapers as I was writing. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
So much of leaderships is showing that you are paying attention to people's needs, and modeling the behavior you want from others. I wonder how many citizens were motivated to get out and help too when they heard the mayor was on the job? What a mensch!
Didn't both Richard Daley's( Richard M. being the current and Richard A. - his father) have big storms that defined, cemented, their place as Mayors? I seem to remember somthing about that but not sure.
The Chicago snowstorm fiasco that BJ referred to was best defined by Michael Bilandic, who was mayor after the first Mayor Daley died.
In the days before the primary election in 1979 there was a snowstorm that brought criticism to the way Bilandic was handling city hall. He lost the primary a few days later to Jane Byrne, who went on to become the city's hitherto only female mayor.
It's lore in Chicago political history.
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