The rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous, says the Good Book. Likewise, bad things happen in blue states and red states. In our age of cable news and the 24/7 news cycle, we learn of trouble near and far quickly.
We do what we can to minimize disasters, but they still happen. How quickly we respond and recover from these disasters also makes news. Slow recoveries make us wonder about the competence of our leaders. Quick recoveries make leaders look good.
Three years ago, Hurricane Ian lashed the state of Florida, washing out three sections of the Sanibel Causeway connecting Sanibel and the Captiva islands with the mainland of Florida. The storm broke the only roadway linking Sanibel and the islands with supplies.
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Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Transportation sprang into recovery operations. Fifteen days later, the causeway was repaired, and traffic was resumed. This quick recovery added luster to Governor DeSantis’ resume. DeSantis hopes to be POTUS someday. His quick repair of the Sanibel Causeway is etched in recent history.
On March 24, 2024, a large container ship named Dali lost power and drifted into the supports of the Francis Scott Key Bridge spanning the Patapsco River in Maryland. The impact of the collision caused the bridge supports to collapse, destroying the bridge.
I have never crossed the Sanibel Causeway, but I have crossed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland many times. This disaster happened at night, but six workers fixing potholes were killed. The loss of this bridge did not technically isolate anyone, but the impact is still felt in the Baltimore area traffic patterns. The bridge remains unrepaired.
Like Governor DeSantis, Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat, has his sights on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But while people are now going back and forth over the Sanibel Causeway, it has been seventeen months since the Dali crashed the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The gap over the Patapsco River is a daily reminder of that disaster and the lingering hardships it caused.
President Kennedy once noted that success has many fathers, but that failure is an orphan. Neither of these two leaders was responsible for the disasters that destroyed the two bridges. To his great credit, DeSantis managed to repair the span between Sanibel and the Florida mainland in fifteen days. The same cannot be said for Moore.
Moore’s path to the White House, if any, lies in reconnecting the gap across the Patapsco River. That gap needs to be closed quickly and safely. At this point, I’d say that Governor DeSantis is one bridge up over Governor Moore.
Ned Cosby, a frequent contributor to American Thinker, is a former pastor, veteran Coast Guard officer, and retired English high school teacher. His novel OUTCRY is a love story exposing the refusal of Christian leaders to report and discipline clergy who sexually abuse our young people. This work of fiction addresses crimes that are all too real. Cosby has also written RECOLLECTIONS FROM MY FATHER’S HOUSE, tracing his own odyssey from 1954 to the present. For more info, visit Ned Cosby.