I respectfully disagree. I don't consider Franken & Penn's situations to be equivalent. By GOING to NOLA, Penn is most certainly going to attract a lot of personal attention at the scene. This detracts from the job at hand. Penn is in the way.
If he wanted to be helpful he should send some supplies down there at his own expense. Putting himself at the scene is just a waste of rescue resources.
Even if he did take 40 (or even 4) people to safety? I suggest we ask those folks what they think of his actions.