Three Leaders, All Comfortable, Put Three Different Faces on Storm Response
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Version 0 of 1. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg played the stern parent, chiding the kids not to surf and offering sensible suggestions like staying home to eat a sandwich. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, tieless with a shirt button undone, was a confident but unhurried everyguy: the hunky local fire chief. And Gov. Chris Christie was his usual blunt self, deriding those who resisted evacuation orders as “selfish and stupid.” As tests of political leadership go, there are few more important — or treacherous — moments than the emergency weather briefing, that rare opportunity for state and city leaders to communicate directly, in their singular style, with tens of thousands of rapt, anxious citizens. But complicating matters is the basic fact that rhetoric and reassurance can do nothing to shift the course of a hurricane or suppress a storm surge. The events, held by these three officials on Monday and over the weekend in the buildup to Hurricane Sandy, are part news conference, part fireside chat, and they require the full portfolio of executive skills: confidence, calm, empathy and wit. Both governors are considered future presidential contenders and the mayor, who is leaving office next year, continues to expand his national profile. And all three were undoubtedly aware that although the fortunes of politicians are rarely boosted by how they handle big storms, their reputations can easily wind up among the casualties. Witness Mr. Bloomberg’s impulsive suggestion, amid the blizzard of December 2010, that residents relax and take in a Broadway show: little comfort to thousands of New Yorkers who woke up to snowed-in streets that were impossible to pass. The storm became the nadir of the mayor’s third term. At Monday’s briefing, Mr. Bloomberg, who practiced a more measured approach last year during Tropical Storm Irene, stayed no-nonsense, rattling off figures on electrical grids and wave heights. But befitting a mayor who meddles with soda sizes and restaurant menus, Mr. Bloomberg could not resist a bit of micromanaging. “This may be a good time to stay hunkered into your home,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “Have a sandwich out of the fridge. Sit back, and watch the television.” Later, he suggested that New Yorkers read “a good book.” This was the fifth briefing Mr. Bloomberg had held on the storm since Friday, and he did betray signs of fatigue. “The gertles — the gottles — I’m having a mental block — the Goethals Bridge,” the mayor stammered at one point, attempting to spit out the name of a span between New Jersey and Staten Island. An easy mistake to make — it’s pronounced “GOTH-ulls” — and the mayor came out looking more human for it. Where Mr. Bloomberg stays stoic, Mr. Christie, of New Jersey, prefers passion. At his Monday briefing, Mr. Christie eschewed the usual political uniform for a fresh-off-the-helicopter Windbreaker. And in case any viewers forgot who was barking at them on their televisions, the jacket came with Mr. Christie’s name and title emblazoned on the chest. “It’s just stupid,” Mr. Christie said, swigging from a bottle of Poland Spring water, as he grew animated discussing seaside residents of his state who had still refused to leave their homes. “They are now in harm’s way,” the governor said. “These decisions were both stupid and selfish.” Mr. Christie has a reputation for feistiness: this summer, he was captured on video in a verbal altercation with a constituent on the Jersey Shore who had yelled at him. But perhaps aware of the more sensitive nature of an impending hurricane, Mr. Christie sounded a more calming note as he wrapped up his briefing on Monday. The governor softened his tone as he directly addressed the children of New Jersey. “There is no reason to be scared; remain calm,” Mr. Christie said soothingly, in a moment that prompted chatter on social media. “The adults are taking care of business.” On Monday evening Mr. Cuomo watched the storm surge on Long Island and then viewed flooding at the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Earlier, he spoke at separate briefings in Manhattan and on Long Island, where he remained friendly and easygoing, deferring the more technical questions to lieutenants. He offered practical advice — “You do not need to be going to the beach to take pictures, you really don’t” — and a bit of gubernatorial uplift. “It never ceases to amaze me that New Yorkers can rise to the occasion,” Mr. Cuomo said. “We are known for our courage and our toughness, but we also have a sense of community that is really inspirational.” But this casual Cuomo belied a more calculating one, whose machinations came out last year when storm briefings became a proxy for a turf war between city and state. When Tropical Storm Irene threatened the city, Mr. Cuomo tried to bar the man then serving as chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from appearing at Mr. Bloomberg’s news conferences, which had received more viewership than those held by the governor. (The transit chief, Jay H. Walder, later took a new job in Hong Kong.) This year, during Hurricane Sandy, Mr. Walder’s replacement, Joseph J. Lhota, has appeared exclusively at Mr. Cuomo’s events. |