The storm that ripped through Oklahoma, leaving death and destruction in its wake, all but guaranteed that once the situation stabilizes and the rebuilding begins, Air Force One will carry President Obama to the scene. There, he will tour the devastation, meet with survivors, huddle with local officials and pledge federal aid in the recovery.
It is a routine all too familiar to this president, whose time in office has been marked by an unusual number of deadly natural disasters and far too many funerals and memorial services after several mass shootings and one terrorist bombing. Starting with his trip to Beckley, West Virginia, April 25, 2010, to deliver the eulogy for 29 miners killed in a coal mine explosion, the president has made such somber treks far more often than he would like. He has viewed storm damage in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey and New York. He has gone to communities shaken by gun violence in Arizona, Texas, Colorado and Connecticut. And, most recently, he has prayed with the victims and survivors of the bomb attack in Massachusetts and industrial explosion in Texas.
No travel plans have yet been announced for Oklahoma. But this delay is also part of the familiar pattern. "In situations like this," explained White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, "we always make decisions, in the first instance, based on the president's insistence that his travel does not interfere with recovery efforts, (and) does not drain resources from those efforts."
When he does get there, the script is well known, changing little for any modern president. The aerial view of the devastation from helicopter. The walking tour with local officials. The meetings with survivors trying to rescue remnants of their previous lives. The words of comfort for those still alive. The prayers for those who perished.
That script changes for visits to those communities rocked by shootings, and criminal attacks. There, he must give voice to the nation's outrage and pledge to bring the perpetrators to justice and to search for ways to prevent similar crimes from being committed.
But in all cases, whether the deaths and destruction result from acts of God or the misdeeds of man, the nation expects its president to provide comfort and solace and to serve as the mourner-in-chief. They also hope that his words will somehow help them make sense of the event that has so disrupted their lives.
