Ebola in New York: What, Me Worry?

Truth be told, I’m a little worried about Ebola. Not because I have a hysterical fear of the contagion—from a rational standpoint I am far more concerned about getting hit by a car or dropping dead from overwork than contracting the virus.

But as willing as I am to accept the expert opinions of medical practitioners who insist the possibility of an outbreak is remote, as an observer of New York government and how it operates, I nonetheless have difficulty stomaching the assurances of Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio that they have everything under control. That’s what happens when you have leaders who have consistently made it clear that their paramount objective in tackling a problem is to manage its optics, rather than to arrive at the optimal solution.

You see, my fear is that in focusing on projecting confidence and refusing to acknowledge error, they will make decisions for their own perceived political benefit that are not the best for the rest of us, as so often happens in government. The difference in this instance, however, is that whereas with most issues the poor choices of our officials take years (if not decades) to punish us, a crisis like Ebola allows no margin for error. It is immune to even the most impressive public posturing.

There is a reason I am genuinely apprehensive, as needlessly alarmist as it makes me feel to be so.

Over his first 10 months in office, Mayor de Blasio has often shown a desire to govern by press release. Unwilling to take off-topic questions or delve into nuance, the mayor seems to give more weight to the stagecraft of his pronouncements than to the degree to which their substance holds up to rigorous scrutiny.

He may have very well learned this approach from Gov. Cuomo. In the governor’s case, the overarching thrust of his administration over the last four years has been to rack up victories—a governing philosophy that has proven a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it has assured that out of virtually every conflict, every conundrum, the governor has emerged with something to show for his involvement—an accomplishment he can point to as concrete evidence of his effectiveness as a chief executive.

This single-minded determination has made the governor remarkably productive, particularly in the context of an era characterized by partisan impasses and dysfunction. Yet the downside of this tack is that in order for Cuomo to always be able to declare himself a winner in the arena of governance—where most quandaries defy facile resolutions and the wisest course often leads not to the black and white certitude politicians crave but to an unsatisfying gray area—it has been necessary for the governor and his team to constantly redefine victory as whatever it was they were ultimately able to achieve. Thus, what constitutes success is no longer based upon a sober evaluation of what action the problem required, but a political calculation by the governor’s office of what it deemed doable. In this worldview, there is no room for dissent and no tolerance for loose ends: Once the governor declares a mission accomplished, it is accomplished and anything that hints at inadequacy or failure is ignored.

Cuomo’s handling of Ebola’s arrival in New York has already revealed some of the problems inherent in his approach to governing. His desire to dominate the discourse and awe the public with his command of the situation has led him to make bold pronouncements, and then dial them back as soon as the degree to which they were not adequately thought through has come to light. Rather than acknowledging error, however, the administration’s response has been to obfuscate, deny and spin—a mode that has far too often appeared to be its default when it finds itself on its heels.

De Blasio, by contrast, has handled these difficult circumstances far better. Exercising restraint, projecting calm and minimizing his movements to avoid missteps, he has conveyed the right balance of seriousness and comforting assurance. That being said, he has not been forced to make any really hard decisions yet, so it is too early to judge how he will react when faced with a hotter fire.

Fortunately for the moment the virus appears contained, though of course it would be foolhardy at this early stage to breathe a sigh of relief. The bottom line is that no one knows how this crisis may develop, and it is precisely the fact that it is unknowable that makes it so difficult for politicians, who seek to win each news cycle, to determine how to deal with it.

It is my sincerest hope that my instincts are wrong, and that Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio will selflessly rise to this great challenge, instead of trying to angle for acclaim or point fingers away from themselves. As a parent supremely anxious about the world into which I have brought my child, I feel viscerally that even the cost of partial failure by our leaders is too horrible to contemplate.

Perhaps our greatest consolation should come from the understanding that both the governor and the mayor know all too well that their political futures are on the line here. Though, on the flipside, that may also be greatest reason to worry.