Grade Obama on the Gulf Oil Spill

jamesrage said:

I picked other. Its not his responsibility to handle the leak and it should first be responsibility of BP and the local states to protect their coastline and then the states ask for help if it is too much to handle and then Obama should get the federal government to help with the clean up and give BP the bill for the clean up..

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I hardly ever agree with any of your politics, but at least you're remaining ideologically consistent. Most of the other conservatives commenting on this issue, however, seem to be criticizing Obama for not making more of an effort or for not being more engaged in this event, despite their ideologies stating that the President shouldn't be involved in such an event, as "the free market" should be able to handle it. Which I think shows just how many conservatives there are who will take any view on an issue thye can just to criticize the President. Which means that no matter what Obama does, most conservatives (especially the pundits) will just criticize him no matter what he does. Kudos to you.

What I think is so interesting about polls and/or threads like this one is that these are the same people (Conservatives) who continue to state the government should stay out of the business of private enterprise. But the moment private enterprise screws up suddenly everyone's calling for the head of "big government" to step up and do something. Really...what do you expect the man or his Administration to do exactly? What more could the White House possibly do in a situation like this?

1. The last major oil spill of this size that took place in the GOM occured in 1979 by a Mexican oil company. The same containment procedures were used and the spill continued until a relief well was drilled in August of that same year.

2. People quickly forget that 11 people died in this tragic accident. The sinking of the oil rig was a rescue and recovery event before it became and environmental containment and cleanup incident. People need to remember that.

3. By all accounts, BP didn't share all the information they had w/the White House initially. It took about a week before the Obama Administration knew the full details of how much oil was spewing from the well, as well as the difficulties it would take to cap it.

4. Although not the first oil rig to spring a leak in the GOM, it IS the first to happen in such deep water.

5. Society expects that the government should have all emergency equipment on "standby" for such disasters. Well, where's the responsibility of private enterprise? BP made the mess and by law wasn't it their responsibility to take all necessary safety precautions including ensuring their backup systems worked and that they had enough boom and skimmers under their control to promptly respond to this disaster before any other entity was involved?

I think anyone who's blaming the President and his Administration for doing nothing or little to nothing are placing blame in the wrong place. It's not the role of government to handle such disasters. This is all on BP w/the federal goverment providing oversight toward capping the well, the cleanup effort and ensuring that those who have legitimate claims against BP to be paid.

Sidenote: There is still a country to run. The man doesn't need to be their 24/7. That's what delegating responsiblity is all about. He's done that. IMO, the best move he has made was releaving the female Coast Guard officers who was initially overseeing the cleanup effort and coordinating events w/Commodore Allen. This man is getting the job done!!!

apdst said:

PBO is doing a piss poor job. Since day zero, he has done more to enhance the problems rather than solve the problems.

No berms.

No burning.

Didn't accept foreign aid.

Killed tens of thousands of jobs.

He needed this to be a disaster and that's exactly what he got.

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So, in your mind the government was suppose to set aside emergency equipment and keep it on standby for every private company who dedices to take the risk of drilling in deep water and put the coastal environment in danger such a disaster happen? I'm I reading you correctly?

The government was suppose to keep hundreds if not thousands of miles of boom onhand in the event of such a disaster; this isn't the job of those private oil companies who have decided to take the risk and drill for oil off-shore.

The government was suppose to set up berms along coastal/island areas and water inlets in anticipation of such a disaster.

The government was suppose to have hundreds of skimmers vessels waiting off the Gulf coast for just such a catastrophy.

The government is suppose to add to this man-made environmental disaster by burning oil off the Gulf coast and further risk tourism along LA, MS, AL, FL beachfront areas.

The government, NOT BP, has killed jobs along the Gulf coast because it was they and not BP who caused this oil leak?

I'm I reading you correctly?

jamesrage said:

I picked other. Its not his responsibility to handle the leak and it should first be responsibility of BP and the local states to protect their coastline and then the states ask for help if it is too much to handle and then Obama should get the federal government to help with the clean up and give BP the bill for the clean up..

Click to expand...

I voted other because that is exactly what I think.