Three Years Late and $29 Billion Short

During a ceremonial appearance in New Orleans's Lower Ninth Ward today, presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain issued a sharp critique of the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina. He characterized it as "terrible and disgraceful" and vowed that if such a catastrophe had happened on his watch, he would have landed his plane at "the nearest Air Force base and come over personally." He did not say if he would have piloted the plane himself and whether he would have brought along an inflatable life raft or a mop and a bucket.

In May 2006 McCain was one of 21 senators to vote against a bill authorizing $29 billion for post-Katrina recovery. He claimed that it contained unnecessary spending provisions. That aside, the senator was indulging in the sort of belated indignation that has been a part of the political language ever since a legislator from a southern state was heard to say something uncomplimentary about slavery, probably around 25 years ago. In the periodic table of America's historical wrongs, slavery has a longer half-life than, say, the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Only 46 years passed between President Roosevelt's signing of Executive Order 9066 and President Reagan's signing of a Congressional apology for same.

Indignation for past wrongs is painless, especially if it is unaccompanied by contrition. Indignation is never having to say you're sorry. The mistake was somebody else's. Someone else gazed idly out the airplane window at the drowning city. You, of course, would have gone there in person.