Politicians Love Tragedy ? It Makes for Great Photo Ops

"Something about a tragedy, no matter how private, reduces us all to children clamoring for consolation and closure. Consider the bizarre criticism raining down on [NYC] Mayor Bloomberg today, for failing to drop his obligations and stay in New York in the wake of yesterday's Bronx fire. Instead, Bloomberg flew to Florida, as previously scheduled. ?I don't know what can be more important in Miami,? said Assemblyman Ruben Diaz ? and, as it turned out, nothing was: Questions about the fire hounded the mayor at every turn there. Today's NY Post, in its typically loaded lead, cites ?critics? wondering ?whether he's fulfilling his role as the city's leader.? The unspoken template here ? his expected ?role? ? is, of course, post-9/11 [ex-NYC Mayor Rudolf] Giuliani. Even Bloomberg's detractors admit that the mayor's ?got no real role to play in the actual firefighting or what happens afterwards,? to quote a political scientist who then proceeded to pine for an 'expression of support'." Sheesh