MSNBC host Chuck Todd cited Monday the response to Hurricane Sandy and the handling of the Boston Marathon as examples of a competent federal government working:
CHUCK TODD: It’s very possible that Republicans overplay their hand, try to so hard to make this a scandal that they turn the public off. But a new CNN poll shows the president's approval has remained steady in the wake of these so-called controversies at 53 percent. And although more than 7 in 10 Americans call the IRS actions unacceptable, they believe the agency acted on its own. Just 37 percent think it acted under the order of White House officials and that just about matches core conservative number in most polling. There is, of course, plenty of examples where you can argue that government has worked. Think of the rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy or the response of the Boston bombings. But it’s never a good story when a White House has to respond to examples when the government isn't working very well for the American people. Competency in government. Remember, this is what undid Bush in the second term more than anything else. The ideas that he couldn’t just do some of the basics. This is the bigger problem for the White House to deal with now.
But the response for the victims of Hurricane Sandy has been anything but smooth, as the Washington Free Beacon has extensively reported. Even more than six months out, flood insurance claims run through FEMA have been slow and inadequate. Some victims have faced difficulties rebuilding after FEMA issued expanded flood zone maps and doubled insurance premiums for certain areas last year.
"FEMA has caused more damage to the shore than Sandy did," one New Jersey resident told the Free Beacon in March.
And although the federal government identified and apprehended the Boston bombers quickly after the attack, Tamerlan Tsarnaev appears to have fallen through the interagency cracks. Both the CIA and FBI investigated and cleared Tsarnaev in the years prior to the Boston attack, on tips from Russian authorities. Tsarnaev also exited and reentered the country during this period.