I note that no one is paying particular attention to the performance of Obama's FEMA in the disaster that killed 300 people in southern states.

I'd ask where they are and what are they doing but what's the point? No one beyond the victims cares about the politics of disasters. The left lost interest once Obama took office for obvious reasons. And since the right never made an issue of Clinton's slow response to hurricanes, it would hardly be proper to lay into Obama now.

But what happens when the administration plays politics itself with disaster relief. Texas has a major disaster on its hands with wild fires but Obama has refused to declare the affected counties disaster areas. Reuters reports:

"You have to ask, 'Why are you taking care of Alabama and other states?' I know our letter didn't get lost in the mail," Perry, a Republican and frequent critic of the federal government, said after addressing a Texas emergency management conference.

President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for Alabama, where storms -- including a tornado that ravaged Tuscaloosa on Wednesday -- killed nearly 200 people this week.

The White House said Obama will visit the state on Friday.

"There is a point in time where you say, 'Hey, what's going on here?'" Perry said.
[ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ]

Perry had requested a federal declaration of emergency for Texas as the wildfires began to rage across the large state. The request has not been answered, although several federal agencies are supplying firefighters.

"They watch TV, they know what's going on here, they can recognize that there is going to be a request for assistance, a request for help," Perry said.

Two volunteer firefighters have died battling the Texas wildfires, which have destroyed more than 900 buildings.

A federal major disaster declaration could reimburse Texas and local governments 75 percent of the cost of their response. Local departments and the Texas Forest Service have spent more than $60 million since September 1 responding to wildfires, state forest service spokeswoman Linda Moon said.

"Governor Perry's request is currently under review, and will continue our close coordination with the state as they work to protect their residents and communities," FEMA spokeswoman Rachel Racusen said.

And if Texas was a blue state with a governor that supported him for re-election? Move along...nothing to see here...