When a blizzard's coming, there are sure to be stories about folks stocking up on milk and toilet paper.

And when the blizzard's over, there are sure to be stories about outrage over unplowed streets and seemingly unprepared state and local governments.

That's exactly what's happening now in the wake of this weekend's big blizzard in the Northeast. As Politico says:

"In New York City, [independent] Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent a second day Tuesday batting back questions about his administration's response to the Christmas weekend deluge, urging citizens to stay calm while city agencies work to clear the streets.

"Across the river in New Jersey, Republican Gov. Chris Christie's team is struggling to explain how both the governor and his second-in-command, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, ended up on out-of-state vacations during a widely forecast blizzard."

As you'd expect, the New York tabloids are having a (snowy) field day:

Of particular note is the Post's story headlined "Sanitation Boss John Doherty's Street Plowed Clean, But Nearby Streets Remain Winter Blunderland." It's a classic example of this post-blizzard gotcha genre (and we mean that as a compliment).

Meanwhile, as Korva noted earlier, in Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker is getting lots of positive attention for being out in the snowy streets — digging out cars and delivering diapers as he travels.

NPR's Robert Smith is due to have more on the hot tempers over New York's cold woes on today's All Things Considered. Click here to find an NPR station that broadcasts or streams the show.

Update at 3:20 p.m. ET: Bloomberg said today that "we didn't do as good a job as we wanted to do" on getting the streets cleared.

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