I suppose that it was inevitable.  Many of us sincerely believe that we ducked a bullet with the passage of Hurricane Irene in and out of our lives.  Now, of course, we have journalists setting up a cry and charging over-reaction on the part of political office holders.  One such example is a piece by Toby Harnden the US Editor for the UK's Daily Telegraph .  His commentary, Perfect Storm of Hype: Politicians, the media and the Hurricane Irene apocalypse that never was, appeared on Drudge.

To be fair, Harnden's main beef is with his colleagues in the media both for over-hyping and-- in some cases-- for obvious disappointment when the storm did not reach "Katrina-like" proportions.  But he also criticizes New Jersey's Governor, Chris Christie, for (allegedly) exploiting the storm for purposes of "political redemption," after Christie's absence from his state during one of the worst snowstorms to hit New Jersey.  Being even-handed, Harnden also criticizes President Obama, as well.

For my part, I found the actions of those political leaders who were engaged prior to and during the storm timely and appropriate.  Yes, there was hyperbole.  Yes, there were repeated and firm exhortations.  But quite candidly, that is what it sometimes takes to get people to MOVE.  And even with that, there is still a minority of thrill seekers or kooks that try to stay in harm's way, necessitating rescue-- or becoming a statistic.

Do political office holders benefit when they perform their duties well?  Yes.  Do they suffer when they fail-- or are perceived as having failed-- to do their job well?  Absolutely.  The allure of power, prestige and privilege notwithstanding, it's a wonder that we can even find people to take these positions.

And resolutely moving forward with recovery efforts are our first responders and utility repair people, many of whom have been on duty and will continue on duty for a good long while, yet.  I suspect that Irene was not "hyped" as far as they are concerned.

So, from my vantage point reasonable accolades are in order.  It does look like some lessons have been learned from past disasters.  Irene was bad enough, and we are thankful that worse did not befall us.