Heroes and villains

With the intractable Iraqi war having become so divisive after four years and ironically so devastatingly disruptive to the once-overarching homeland security framework for nearly all public policy, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) statement honoring National Public Safety Telecommunications Week (April 4-18) probably doesn’t carry the weight it might have a few years ago.
But it still means something. Every little bit helps when you’re running for president in a wide open field of candidates.
“Issues of homeland security, natural disasters and the daily emergencies that are part of our nation’s everyday reality remind us of the importance of our public-safety communications professionals,” stated Clinton. “Telecommunications professionals are the first line of communication with the public, from a hurricane or terrorist threat to a local 911 emergency, providing our citizens with a soothing voice, a steady hand and life-saving information. This nation’s public-safety communications personnel display tremendous courage every day and their efforts merit recognition.”
While a relative neophyte New Yorker by political design, Clinton is not a newcomer to a post-9/11 public-safety movement that has attracted just enough politically convenient attention to virtually guarantee gridlock on pressing issues such as interoperability and broadband connectivity. Clinton is co-chair of the Congressional 911 Caucus, whose existence sadly continues to be critical because location-based wireless 911 remains unfinished business after all these years.
It really didn’t take much to lay claim to public safety. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), another White House contender, likely lost his chance after disappointing first-responder groups with his retreat from Cyren Call Communications Corp.’s plan. Moreover, McCain has all but surrendered his maverick moniker to Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), himself an uncertain presidential hopeful and a former cellular industry principal in the 1980s.
Members of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International and the National Emergency Number Association, which sponsor National Public Safety Telecommunications Week, might be re-thinking political allegiances about now. On the other hand, the 2008 presidential vote is still a ways off and politicians have been known to flip-flop and disappoint.