In a bid to make political hay out of the coronavirus pandemic, congressional Democrats want to create a 9/11-style commission to investigate the federal government’s response. Although Rep. Adam Schiff insists the idea is “not a political exercise to cast blame,” it’s impossible to imagine that he and Speaker Nancy Pelosi wouldn’t use a commission to do exactly that.

After all, they tried and failed to drive President Trump from office with Russia, Russia, Russia and then Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine. Both times they concocted their own narrative by turning assertions into facts, and shouldn’t be trusted with a third chance.

Yet it is beyond dispute that America was not ready for this or any other pandemic. We were caught flat-footed, with neither Washington nor the most populous states having sufficient plans, people and equipment to combat an ­invisible enemy.

Already the impact of the virus recalls other great shocks to our nation, from the JFK assassination to the financial crash of 2008. Along with 9/11, each was followed by extensive examinations of what went wrong and how a repeat could be prevented.

A prime requirement of such probes is that they be viewed as impartial. But equally important is timing — and now is not the time to play the blame game, especially one loaded with partisan agendas.

The war against the virus is far from over. The body count continues to rise, some 16 million Americans have lost their jobs, the federal guidelines remain in place and nearly all states continue to impose harsh restrictions on commerce and social interactions.

Thus, a finger-pointing exercise would only harden our political polarization. Most important, it would sap attention and energy from the all-hands-on-deck emergency America still faces.

When I made a similar argument recently, author and historian Bruce Lee was among the readers who responded with thoughtful ideas. His were especially relevant given his vast knowledge of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor that drew America into World War II.

Lee has written or edited four books on the Japanese attack, including the most definitive, “Pearl Harbor: Final Judgement,” published in 1992.

His co-author was Henry Clausen, who was appointed as an independent prosecutor late in the war by Secretary of War Henry Stimson to get to the bottom of why American forces were surprised by the air raid. Clausen was given the authority to put every witness under oath because previous probes had been corrupted by false claims.

Although the two top military officers at Pearl Harbor, one each from the Army and Navy, were relieved of their commands soon after the attack, the lack of large and definitive answers had continued to fuel conspiracy theories. Alternately, these theories held that either/or FDR, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin knew the attack was coming, but did nothing so America would be forced to enter the war.

Importantly, Clausen’s report to Stimson, which cited failures of military and civilian leaders and how critical intelligence was ignored, was not finished until after the war.

Two years later, in 1947, Congress passed the National Security Act to restructure the military and intelligence agencies. The act created the National Security Agency and the CIA.

Against that backdrop, here is an edited version of what Bruce Lee wrote about that history and what we should learn from it.

“Pearl Harbor was the greatest disaster in America’s military history and was caused by an intelligence system that was broken from start to finish. The breakdown involved people in the Army, the Navy, the White House.

“Those who made errors of judgement were unpunished, and they carried out their duties throughout the war. Many of these men had superb records in combat.”

“Meanwhile, the broken intelligence system was corrected and rebuilt during the war. This allowed America to prevail two or three years earlier than had been forecast in 1942.”

Lee concludes by saying: “The lesson for today is that instead of looking for people to blame for mishandling the disaster, stay positive, fix the problems at hand and win this war.”

His point, and mine, is not that we shouldn’t find out what went wrong in the early days of the pandemic. Eventually, we must. But we don’t have the luxury of doing it competently and fairly while the battle for lives still rages.

Win the war first, and everything else can follow.

Almost infantile

Oh, grow up!

The feud between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio erupted again Saturday. Fittingly, since they act like children, this time it was over the city’s schools.

Soon after the mayor said the system serving 1.1 million students will not reopen this academic year, Cuomo slammed on the brakes.

“He didn’t close them and he can’t open them,” the governor insisted. “It is my legal authority in this situation.”

Legality aside, Cuomo has a point when he says the schools have to be seen in conjunction with the emergency order that has shuttered bars, restaurants and most businesses. If, for example, businesses reopen and schools don’t, many parents will face child-care problems.

Yet the continuing failure of Cuomo and de Blasio to communicate on the most basic issues is a local headache and a national embarrassment. How hard is to pick up the phone and talk about issues that are critical to the 8.6 million people who live in the five boroughs?

Here’s another issue they ought to discuss: the fact that the public transit system continues to operate.

The MTA reports that 50 bus and subway workers have died from the coronavirus, and more than 5,000 are under quarantine. Those numbers show that the system is a petri dish that may be doing more than anything else to spread the disease. Riders and workers get infected there and take it to their homes.

Obviously the system serves a vital need, but the casualty numbers alone are horrific and show it’s also working against the primary objective of stopping the spread. Isn’t there a middle ground?

Of course, finding one would require the mayor and governor to talk at length and agree on something. That, apparently, is the one thing that can’t happen. Even during a pandemic.

Shame on them.

Blame the CCP, not Asians

Reader Roy Cho is concerned that the focus on China’s dirty hands in the pandemic is putting a target on the backs of some Asian Americans. He writes: “I agree that the Chinese Communist Party is to blame for a lot of the misinformation. But I ask that you please explain you are not blaming the Chinese people but rather the Chinese government.”

Fair point, so here goes: The responsibility belongs completely and only to the Chinese Communist Party and its leaders. Asian Americans of any nationality should not be blamed or penalized.

Chat’s a solution

Headline: “My girlfriend is a chatbot”

Solution: See a doctor.