No, it is not fair, but that is how the world works. And, in this hyper political and partisan world, the “other side” will find some reason for what has gone bad to be blamed on the leader of the opposition party.
Presidents are always willing to take the credit for a good economy and if there is a recession, they get the blame, even though in most situations, neither the good economy nor the bad one is their individual fault.
As for disasters, it all comes home to roost on the emergency management leader/director when bad things happen. As a local emergency management director, I knew that if we had the “big one,” whatever that was, I would be a likely target for blame. It comes with the position.
It is for that reason that I never said, “We are ready for anything.” My message was rather, “This is what we are doing to become prepared,” and then list all the activities and programs that are ongoing. I’d also always add, “Government or an emergency management agency cannot overcome the lack of personal and family preparedness in a community.” One, two, five or 50 people cannot make up for the lack of preparedness in a city, county or state.
