WASHINGTON: An act of God levels an American city, and political leaders squabble. Why does this sorry piece of history need to repeat itself?

The political dustup over a killer tornado in Greensburg, Kansas, was a sad reminder of Hurricane Katrina and how quickly leaders forget to lead. But it ended quickly, mercifully— a sign perhaps that at least one lesson was learned from the botched relief effort in 2005 that helped put the Bush presidency in a tailspin.

While it is too soon to judge whether the response to the May 4 tornado will be effective enough to defy the public’s distrust of government, we do know this: Politicians in Washington and Kansas did not want to be caught playing politics with tragedy.

In this era of partisan gridlock, that is progress.

“The ... fingerpointing and back-and-forth is not helpful to anybody,” Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius told The Associated Press after clashing with the White House this week.

The tempest began when the White House announced plans for President George W. Bush to tour Greensburg, where nine people were killed during the tornado. Sebelius, a Democrat, said she planned to talk to Bush about how National Guard deployments to Iraq had hampered the response.

“I don’t think there is any question if you are missing trucks, Humvees and helicopters that the response is going to be slower,” she said on Monday. “The real victims here will be the residents of Greensburg, because the recovery will be at a slower pace.”

Republican and Democratic governors alike have raised similar concerns for months about the war draining resources their states need to help people recover from disasters. This time, the White House fired back. Press Secretary Tony Snow suggested that Sebelius failed to request help from the federal government.“As far as we know, the only thing the governor has requested are FM radios,” Snow said.

All were echoes of Katrina – as thousands of New Orleans residents waited for rescue and assistance, the Democratic mayor and Louisiana governor accused the federal government of incompetence, and the White House lobbed the same charge at local Democrats. Both sides, tragically, were right.

In Kansas, citizens of a flattened town were too busy

picking up the pieces to form

an opinion about the political fight.

“I’ve got too many other things to think about,” said John Fleener while salvaging family possessions from a demolished house. National Guard troops worked a few blocks down the road to clear debris.

At another ravaged house, Cecilia Fleming was helping her daughter salvage what she could from her house. Fleming, a supporter of the Iraq war, said volunteers were filling any gaps caused by the Guard deployment.

“Even if the National Guard doesn’t get enough equipment in place, there are lots of people that will bring in equipment for them to use,” she said.—AP