[Sabramerican]

The term heroic is misused. It is now a ballplayer who hits a single at the right moment to a boy scout helping an old lady.

After 9/11, NYC immediately ran smoothly.

New Orleans, even LA with the riots, proved that such is not the natural order of things. It requires the right leadership.

Highly competent leadership in a time of great stress and anxiety is rare...and considered heroic.

[Alberta's Child]

NYC runs smoothly most of the time -- or at least as "smoothly" as one can expect in city where a certain amount of chaos and disorder is normal.

The City also ran very smoothly in the aftermath of the infamous blackout of August 2003 -- and I'd hardly consider Michael Bloomberg a "heroic" or even "highly competent" mayor.