DeSantis' 'go-go boots' were made for walking. All the left can do is trail behind him.

I’m not sure what the obsession over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ white rubber boots says about our culture. But it says something.

And I don’t think it’s good.

It has been only a week since Hurricane Ian slammed into the Florida coast, and more than 100 people have died. Thousands more are without power or have lost everything.

The storm's aftermath remains a serious emergency, and it’s one DeSantis seems to be handling as a strong leader. He’s working hard to help communities get back to some semblance of normal, and he has even welcomed help from President Joe Biden, whom he’s sparred with in recent months. Ideological and partisan differences are getting put aside for the greater good of the people of Florida.

That doesn’t seem to be making the headlines. But his silly boots are.

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DeSantis wore tall, bright-white rain boots while surveying damage earlier this week, and now Twitter and the news media are obsessed with his “go-go boots” and the fact that he must be trying to audition for the role as the new Green M&M.

Don’t get me wrong, I laughed a few times at the comparisons. It’s hard not to. Someone probably should have advised the governor against that sartorial choice.

What’s not funny is the situation on the ground in Florida. This isn’t the time to be scoring political points against DeSantis.

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Late-night Jimmy Kimmel said this week: “You're not allowed to pass a 'Don't Say Gay' bill then show up in public dressed like Nancy Sinatra.”

Kimmel was referencing the bill DeSantis signed earlier this year – dubbed that by his opponents – which sought to give parents greater control over what young children are exposed to at school.

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Biden and DeSantis act like grown-ups

There have been positives. DeSantis warmly welcomed Biden to Florida on Wednesday and said that he’s “thankful everyone has banded together” and that “we appreciate working together across various levels of government.”

Biden has also complimented DeSantis on his response to the hurricane.

One of the federal government’s most basic roles is to offer disaster relief to states in times of need. Yet that hasn’t stopped snarky comments. Politico said this week that DeSantis may fight all of Biden’s policies, but “he sure does like the president’s wallet.”

That’s inappropriate during a national disaster. (And it’s not the president’s wallet, by the way. It is the American taxpayers who are funding the bill.)

Will there be fallout?

DeSantis is up soon for reelection, and he's also seen as a top GOP presidential contender in 2024. So it’s hard not to look at what’s happening through a political lens to a degree.

Ten years ago, then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took a lot of heat from Republicans for his willingness to work with President Barack Obama after Hurricane Sandy. (Remember “hug-gate”?) It certainly didn’t help Christie’s bid for president in 2016.

That wasn’t fair to him then, and it’s a positive sign that DeSantis is showing he can also put the residents of his state before his political ambitions.

But why talk about that when we can talk about his white boots?

More from Ingrid Jacques:

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Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques 

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DeSantis' Ian response should be our focus, not his boots