"If you had seen the faces of those children as we loaded them onto the airplane, you wouldn’t have asked a lot of questions, either.” (Gov. Rendell)

Photo: Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press.
Caption: Haitians who had been living in an orphanage that was destroyed in the quake landed at Pittsburgh’s airport last month.

If a month ago, this picture offered a completely uncomplicated, “feel good moment” for Gov. Rendell, Pittsburgh and the United States, today it’s prime evidence of a knee-jerk paternalism allowing America — without asking or answering any questions — to surgically whisk these children away because we’re the greatest … and who are they, anyway?

The backstory.