Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

I remember the tornado that went through Rock Island, IL a few years ago, where the winds moved at 140 miles per hour; the entire city had thousands of trees land on top of houses; the city looked like a war zone and it took three years for it to recover. The destruction was devastating, but as bad as RI’s destruction was—it was nothing compared to the aftermath of a massive tornado that killed over 116 people, injured 400 and flattened the entire city of Joplin, MO.

Amazingly, the city’s residents only had 20 minutes to prepare themselves.

Yet, throughout the ordeal that has occurred—the wind’s noise was so loud, it drowned out the sound of the sirens.

While all of this was going on, President Obama visited an Irish pub, where he spoke to a large crowd in Dublin. He also took a helicopter trip to the tiny village of Moneygall, home of his great-great-great grandfather. Locals cheered and the Irish watched on live TV as Obama downed a pint of Guinness and Irish ale.

Frankly, I find President’s behavior bizarre. Why didn’t he visit the victims of Joplin, MO? Many years ago, President Bush took a tremendous amount of criticism for not visiting New Orleans immediately after Hurricane Katrina in September, 2005. The USA Today records:

“WASHINGTON — President Bush has shown that he can be empathetic, sensitive and decisive. But those qualities eluded him for days after Hurricane Katrina, and the lapse could become a defining moment of his White House tenure . . .Bush decided He didn’t cancel his vacation until two days after Katrina struck and didn’t visit the region until four days after the storm . . . Bush’s critics say his response to the hurricane proves that he’s not a leader . . . ‘Oblivious, in denial, dangerous,’ House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday” (September 5th, 2005).

I am wondering: What will the polls say about Obama’s peculiar behavior? Where is his empathy? I wonder: Why hasn’t Nancy Pelosi said anything about Obama’s behavior in Ireland, in light of the human carnage that we are witnessing in Joplin, MO? Granted, the degree of Joplin’s storm was much less when compared to Katrina, but the president’s behavior is surprising. Surely the President could have taken a later flight (being President comes with certain perks).

Clearly, some of Obama’s Jewish mentors should teach the President how a mentsch behaves in a time of catastrophe.

Jewish tradition tells us very vividly how moral people respond to crisis:

You shall not stand by idly when your neighbor’s life is at stake — Lev. 19:16