There's nothing like a hurricane to put the wind in the sails! Barack Obama is having a great week. At least, that’s what MSNBC host Alex Wagner said last night on The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell. In fact, Wagner, who is a former "cultural correspondent" for the progressive Center for American Progress, said that Obama is having a “really good week.” Never mind that, as The Washington Free Beacon aptly noted today, ninety-eight people have died and almost $30-50 billion dollars in damage has been inflicted on the country as a result of this storm.
Now, obviously it's not President Obama’s fault that a storm hit the Mid-Atlantic States so hard before the election, but for Wagner to invoke her pro-Obama hackery and stretch this post-storm cleanup into a narrative about being bipartisan, cutting red tape, and demonstrating a role for big government is nonsensical. President Obama is doing what any president would do during a natural disaster – Democrat or Republican.
ALEX WAGNER: I guess he did, and you know what’s interesting Lawrence, everyone is focused on the climate change piece, which I think is the thing that secured the Bloomberg endorsement. But in the op-ed that he wrote for Bloomberg View or Bloomberg News – he also mentions the president’s position on abortion and women’s reproductive rights, Supreme Court appointments, and the health care law – so, this isn’t just this week. This is something Mayor Bloomberg has been thinking about for some time, apparently, and the fact that it’s coming as the president just finished the ‘bromance’ tour 2012 with Gov. Chris Christie. Showing that bipartisan is possible. That there’s a role for government to play – and also furthering a sensuous message that it’s about cutting red tape and bureaucracy and getting help to those who need it. It’s a really good week for the president.
