President Joe Biden has finally decided to visit East Palestine. He is set to visit the scene of a fiery Norfolk Southern derailment Friday — more than a year after it happened.

Community and state officials have criticized Biden for not making an appearance earlier, and rightly so. They’ve also asked for a federal emergency declaration that still has not been made.

And though other administration officials have made a few visits — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan, for example — Biden seems to have waited until he feels as though the sense of urgency has died down, and it will be easier for him to make an appearance for appearance’s sake.

Regan said his agency remains “laser-focused on this community and our work is not yet done.”

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called the derailment “not only a crisis for the community but a wakeup call for the country.”

But Biden and Congress seem to have decided that getting East Palestine all the federal support available and holding railroads to higher safety standards aren’t really worth the time and effort.

Perhaps a visit will convince Biden of the need to do more than wag his finger at Norfolk Southern. It must, at the least, be an earnest attempt to gain a better understanding of what happened, what is still happening, and what next steps must be taken.

A showy drive-through with little more than a couple of handshakes and vague assurance to keep an eye on the situation will be simply unacceptable.