The emperor has no clothes and no empathy.
But he probably still has an appointment at the French Laundry.
Of course, that's Gavin Newsom I'm writing about.
A smug and ambitious progressive California governor's political aspirations flare up as Los Angeles continues to burn and the lives of an alarming number of its residents are left in tatters.
And it was Newsom who became the arsonist, igniting his own political fortunes with a series of unforced mistakes that ended years of misgovernment and alarmed social justice and climate warriors. They abandoned critical infrastructure in favor of useless far-left policies. Everything is warm and fluffy inside.
Since all hell broke out, Newsom has shown himself to be unprepared and shameless, shifting the blame onto others and trying to cut off one of his devastated constituents.
It's as if he and Karen Bass, the foolhardy “better in Ghana,'' made a political suicide pact for 2025.
When Pacific Palisades was on fire, Anderson Cooper asked Newsom about the status of the fire hydrants there. Instead of owning the failure, he shifted the blame.
“You know, the locals are trying to figure it out,” he told Cooper.
Actually, Governor, you should have let the locals sort things out because the dangers are well known.
This all stops at the top, even if it's a “local” issue. This apocalyptic hell was not some freak accident in a remote area that no one could find on a map. It was Los Angeles, home to millions of people and a city under constant threat of wildfires.
He then cowardly used a fake phone connection to try to shake off his distressed mother by scavenging through rubble in the area.
“Governor! Governor! I live here, Governor! That was my daughter's school!” Pacific Palisades resident Rachel Dervish said as she followed Newsom as he hightailed it back to his SUV. .
“I'm literally talking to the president right now to specifically answer the question of what I can do for you and your daughter,” he said.Jan Brady on the phone with George Glass I said this with gratitude.
When Dervish asked to hear the phone call because he “couldn't believe it,” Newsom, who had clearly not been in contact with anyone, changed his tune. He said he tried honking at Old Joe but couldn't get through. He tried five times, explaining that he was walking around looking for a signal.
She kept asking him about the lack of water in the fire hydrants.
“Why wasn't there water in the hydrants, Governor?” Will it be different next time? ” she asked.
When she said she hadn't done anything, he said, “It must be, of course it must be.”
She was in despair and grief-stricken. She, like many of her neighbors, was angry.
Despite the red flag warning, the bus was in Africa and Newsom was out for lunch. Why didn't he micromanage their provision and water supply?
Natural disasters are a fact of life in the Golden State, and while it's impossible to second-guess Mother Nature, there are ways to prepare for battle and lessen the damage from Mother Nature's wrath.
Take the example of Ron DeSantis. He faces a devastating hurricane season every year. He is a highly effective emergency manager who prepares for the worst, mobilizes all resources, and communicates very effectively with Floridians.
He appears to be relishing the foresight and aftermath, down to the smallest detail to help residents return to normality as quickly as possible.
Government is not a sexy act. Look at the Florida governor's horribly unflattering white rain boots. Karl Lagerfeld is not like that.
Newsome, on the other hand, is smart and handsome. But he is empty and incompetent. Trump said he is adept at delivering platitudes about diversity and inclusion, with a focus on “marginalized communities” such as the endangered delta carp.
And despite his talk of tolerance, he was cold and dismissive of Darvish. Being a leader sometimes means listening and taking a gentle approach. It expresses both confidence and humanity.
George W. Bush understood it when he stood on a stake at Ground Zero and said: The rest of the world is listening to you. ”
Newsom, who was very high up in the Democratic presidential hierarchy, failed spectacularly in this moment on both a political and human level.
Voters won't forget.
