“The action’s taking place by the hard-working firefighters, the men and women and the police that are out there on the line,” he reminds us. As such, the imminent presidential visit is so much “public relations.” Touche. Remember how Bill Clinton used to pitch in when he’d show up at these things? Carrying hoses for firefighters, helping to evacuate people, occasionally riding shotgun in a water bomber? All that and the soulful five-minute ain’t-it-a-shame lip-bite press conference, too. Well, we’ll have back soon enough. And then, watch out wildfire!

There’s an Iraq tie-in too, of course. If only the National Guard were back home, they’d be using their wicked firefighter fu to knock this inferno right out the box. Newsbusters has the video and the obvious recent-historical counterpoint to this mindless idiocy. Click the image to watch.