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View Full Version : Being #2 Isn't Necessarily A Bad Thing



Kathianne
09-10-2023, 12:38 PM
Especially when things like these are being said back in FL. It sometimes seems like people don't pay attention, but ask anyone how they think Biden has done in HI hurricane or PA Train issue.

Trump handled these crisis well, good control over FEMA, calls to states. His problem, as it were, is failure to relate to people emotionally. I don't think he can do it. Closest he came, which was still so much better than Biden, was with military families.

Biden is a disaster on disasters.

DeSantis actually demonstrates empathy according to those involved, when media catches them. My brother agrees that there was no prior notice when DeSantis showed up with no photographers to assess damage by them. Mind you, my brother doesn't care for DeSantis personally, finds him Trump like. BUT, sounding a bit like me again, admits that DeSantis has done good on many levels for FL, building on education from Bush. FL went from bottom way up the list. To brother is his picking fights he doesn't need to have.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/floridians-praise-desantis-response-hurricane-idalia-experts-weigh-in-what-it-means-2024


DeSantis' actions in storm aftermath could shake things up in the 2024 GOP primary race: expertsA GOP pollster told Fox News Digital Florida Gov Ron DeSantis displayed 2 major qualities voters are looking for
By Andrew Mark Miller , Ashley Papa Fox News
Published September 7, 2023 11:02am EDT


Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is earning praise from citizens and politicians in his state and across the country for his response to Hurricane Idalia, which some strategists told Fox News displayed leadership GOP voters are hungry for.


Hurricane Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane near Keaton Beach, Florida, on the morning of Aug. 30, creating a seven-foot storm surge that caused massive flooding and devastation across the state’s western coast and left hundreds of thousands without power.


Gov. DeSantis was widely praised in the media for his handling of the storm, and while he has maintained a stance that storms should not be politicized, political strategists who spoke to Fox News Digital said GOP voters will surely take notice of his leadership.




Pollster and political strategist Dustin Olson explained to Fox News Digital that his polling shows two of the top three important qualities his polling shows Republican voters care most about in their nominee are "Strength & Determination" and "Getting Things Done."


Two Floridians on the ground near where the hurricane made landfall told Fox News Digital that DeSantis displayed those very qualities during interactions they both had with him personally in the aftermath of the storm.


"Zero politicking, zero grandstanding, zero publicity about his appearance," a longtime resident of hard hit Crystal River, Florida, who wished to remain anonymous, told Fox News Digital about her experience with DeSantis. "I was very impressed with his presence and it not being about him at all."


The resident said that DeSantis, who took a break from his presidential campaign to tend to Florida residents, was on a "fact finding mission" when he came and visited their town on Sunday in the wake of the devastation.


"He graciously went into some buildings that got flood damage," the resident said. "He was actually exactly what you want him there to be. And in a position like he's running for president, he could definitely have gotten on a podium and proclaim. He didn't. In my opinion, he did exactly what he had to do."


One of the many people DeSantis met with in Crystal River, Florida, was Crystal River Mayor Joe Meek, who told Fox News Digital that the majority of the homes in his town were flooded with 2-4 feet of water and that he "really appreciated" both the call from DeSantis the morning the hurricane made landfall and the visit days later.


"He spent close to two hours with me, we walked down our historic Main street, which is Citrus Avenue, and visited these small business owners, which are the lifeblood of our economy here in Crystal River and spoke with them, visited their establishments," Meek said about DeSantis’s visit, adding that the town had all the resources it needed from both the state and federal governments to start the difficult job of recovering.


"We then got in his vehicle and drove throughout the city, stopped at numerous homes that he toured. I spoke with people that unfortunately have been impacted greatly. I will tell you that his visit energized our citizens. They really appreciated it, and it brought a level of the energy to our city that is helping us recover."


"It energized our folks, and it made them feel that their governor is here for them and watching out for them and we greatly appreciate it," Meek added. "And I'll tell you, as far as the assistance from the state, anything that we have asked for is there right now."


Olson, head of Olson Strategies & Advertising, told Fox News Digital that DeSantis is the "only serious candidate" currently running on both sides that can "actively demonstrate executive leadership in real-time", adding that "most Democrats don’t even expect that of Joe Biden these days."


"As the old saying goes, ‘show, don’t tell.’ In our polling, Ron DeSantis is the top Second Choice for Trump voters and anytime DeSantis can show competence doing the job, he further solidifies his position as the ‘break glass in case of emergency’ candidate."




The governor’s office said it has distributed over 400,000 meals, 300,000 1-liter waters, 10,000 tarps while opening shelters and coordinating responses via several state agencies. Four days after Idalia made landfall, DeSantis said that power had been restored to 93% of residents, and dozens of successful rescues were made during the aftermath.


"DeSantis, state and local officials, first responders, and brave frontline workers prepared the state for this Category 4 hurricane and made sure Floridians were well-informed about the dangers posed by the storm, took appropriate safety precautions, and understood what resources were available to them in impacted areas," supply chain expert Robert Salvador told Fox News Digital.


"Voters around the country are seeing his leadership in action, and he has even put partisan politics aside, drawing praise from both sides of the aisle on his response along with the rest of the State of Florida," Salvador, CEO and co-founder of DigiBuild, added.


In a statement to Fox News Digital, DeSantis Campaign Communications Director Andrew Romeo said, "Ron DeSantis’ ability to provide steady leadership during a time of crisis has been on full display during the last week."

Kathianne
09-10-2023, 01:03 PM
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/sep/9/biden-fails-crisis-management-in-hawaii-desantis-s/

More:


Biden fails crisis management in Hawaii; DeSantis shines in Florida
By Michael McKenna - - Saturday, September 9, 2023


One legitimate measurement of the readiness and capability of a candidate to be president is how he or she responds to a crisis.


In a moment of crisis, the core of human beings is on display. Some people wither; others shine. Either way, it is always a peek into the foundation of the person — his or her value system.


We had two examples of this recently, as both President Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had the opportunity to respond to crises, in the wake of the devastating fire on Maui and Hurricane Idalia, respectively.


How did they do?


Unfortunately, the president embarrassed himself. While the fires were burning, Mr. Biden remained on the beach and in the beach house of a wealthy donor; he could not even manage an encouraging or sympathetic comment or two to the Maui survivors. When he finally did get around to visiting Hawaii, he compared the fires — which destroyed an entire community and may have killed more than 100 people — to a small kitchen fire he once experienced.


It will not surprise you to learn that the president has managed, in the retelling, to turn that kitchen fire into an inferno that almost killed his wife and his cat, and destroyed his 1967 Corvette. The president wasn’t clear about which loss would have been the greater personal tragedy.


He did this while talking to survivors who, in many instances, were and are certain that their loved ones are dead among the ashes.


In comparison, Mr. DeSantis acquitted himself pretty well during Hurricane Idalia, which was a category 3 hurricane when it made landfall near Keaton Beach, Florida.


He made a prompt and decisive decision to leave the presidential campaign trail to prepare for the hurricane. The thorough preparations of his administration meant that Floridians had roads cleared, power restored in record time, aid delivered to affected communities, and bridges and airports returned to operation quickly.


The DeSantis administration’s around-the-clock work eased the burden for those in the storm’s path and let families focus on getting back on their feet. The governor even fed his citizens, serving them barbecue, Chick-fil-A and, of course, Waffle House.


Apart from that, Mr. DeSantis radiated calm and confidence. In the event of a natural disaster or any other crisis, those qualities are essential in a leader, in part because they help people summon their own strength and their own confidence.


After he took care of the situation in Florida, Mr. DeSantis asked a few questions about the federal response in Hawaii:


“Do you trust the federal government to help, seeing what happened in Hawaii just a few weeks ago and in East Palestine a few months ago. I think that Maui is a total catastrophe, what happened there. … It’s interesting how incurious our corporate media is about what happened in Maui.


“I don’t see them interviewing parents who can’t find their kids. … So, that was a total disaster, really, really heartbreaking to hear some of the stories, even though they’re not being publicized.”


In comparison, Mr. Biden used the wildfire on Maui to press for his preferred suite of policies to address climate change. That’s especially distressing, because the fires there were almost certainly caused by the inability of humans to properly clear vegetation around power lines.


That function, which used to be routine, has become less common as utilities have been pressed by their states (including Hawaii) to spend more of their time and resources on the more politically favored development of wind and solar energy generation.


No one wants or needs politicians who use natural disasters or human tragedies to press their preferred policies. What people do need is executive competence.


Can our leaders arrange the resources under their direction in a timely fashion to ensure that what is needed and what is provided are approximately congruent? Can they perform under pressure, and can they instill confidence in the populace?


In Hawaii, the federal and state governments — and their leaders — failed.


In Florida, Mr. DeSantis succeeded.


Crises expose character. Voters should think about that — and the experiences in Hawaii and Florida at the end of August and what it says about the people in charge — when they make decisions about who should lead us.