Taiwan: Post-Typhoon Political Fallout

Ma Ying-jeou is looking all wet. Is this his Katrina moment? Or his Lien Chan redux moment? Ma, supposedly so telegenic and charismatic and all that, is behaving like an idiot by refusing to take any responsibility, and he's deservedly getting HAMMERED. For goodness sake, he's been blaming everyone else -- including the weather service.

UPDATE: Even the New York Times is covering this story.

Oh, and here's a terrible anecdote that nonetheless makes me more convinced that ever that (a) you can't depend on government for things, and (b) there is no substitute for self-reliance:

On Monday, during an earlier tour of his waterlogged nation, Mr. Ma was seen promising a bulldozer to a man who was searching for the body of his father. Two days later, after failing to persuade officials to make good on the pledge, the man, Lee Yu-ying, was forced to rent his own equipment to dig out his father’s mud-encased car. “What kind of help was that?” Mr. Lee asked TVBS, a cable news channel.

Poor Mr. Lee.