Oil slick poses political peril for Obama

Link
Oil slick poses political peril for Obama - Washington Times

Quote(Nine days after British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon oil rig blew apart and began spewing 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico, a massive oil slick is set to wash ashore on the southern coast Thursday evening and, experts say, could dwarf the damage caused by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.

Failure to get control of the relief effort and contain the environmental challenge could pose the same kind of political threat to Mr. Obama's popular standing that the much-criticized handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina did for former President George W. Bush. And unlike Katrina, it is likely the federal government will be the clear lead authority in dealing with the BP spill.

But Mr. Obama only Thursday dispatched Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson to help coordinate the federal response to the potential environmental disaster.)

Must be something about living in the White House that deters it's occupants from taking events such as 'Katrina' and 'BP oil spill' seriously.

Barack Obama doesn't care about white people.

Please people, no politics on this, please. People got hurt, people died(more than likely), and the coast is up **** creek. Let's keep it constructive.

He dispatched the Navy and the Coast Guard. Did people think he was going to put on a wet suit and go down himself to fix things?

:roll:

Once it became clear that those agencies were unable to fix the problem and that this was potentially a massive catastrophe, it was then appropriate for Obama to visit himself and send his people.

But, the role of a president is primarily to ensure that the proper people to do the job are delegated to do so.

April 30th 2010
(AP) - The White House says President Barack Obama won't be heading to the Gulf Coast in the next few days. But press secretary Robert Gibbs left open the possibility of a later presidential visit to assess the spreading oil spill.
May 1st 2010
Quoted from The Atlantic
(President Obama plans to visit the catastrophe zone off Lousiana's coast within the next 48 hours as SecDef Gates mobilizes the Lousiana National Guard and WH convenes a principal-level homeland security response meeting. Republicans begin to question speed of Obama's response.)

Does Obama have specialized "oil slick assessment" skills? Jesus Christ. This country is becoming ridiculous.

Catz Part Deux said:

He dispatched the Navy and the Coast Guard. Did people think he was going to put on a wet suit and go down himself to fix things?

:roll:

Once it became clear that those agencies were unable to fix the problem and that this was potentially a massive catastrophe, it was then appropriate for Obama to visit himself and send his people.

But, the role of a president is primarily to ensure that the proper people to do the job are delegated to do so.

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Just a tad unfortunate that this President like Bush needs X number of days to talk about forming a committee to discuss a problem prior to actually deciding to actually do something.
Makes one wonder why he is so anxious to remain in Washington?

Ever since his election all we have seen are his oratorical skills, does he have any other skills?

jujuman13 said:

Makes one wonder why he is so anxious to remain in Washington?

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Because that's where his job is? This expectation that presidents will tour national disasters is simply ridiculous. They can't DO ANYTHING on site. Do you really think that what the gulf coast needs right now is more lookie loo's?

jujuman13 said:

Ever since his election all we have seen are his oratorical skills, does he have any other skills?

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Was "repairing oil derricks" on his resume? Your post is pointless partisan political posturing.

The coast guard was dispatched immediately:

Robot Subs Dispatched to Gulf for Oil Rig Leak - AOL News

That is "doing something."

Please stop posting stupid hyperpartisan koolaid drinker b.s. We aren't your brush to tar your political scapegoats down here.

jujuman13 said:

April 30th 2010
(AP) - The White House says President Barack Obama won't be heading to the Gulf Coast in the next few days. But press secretary Robert Gibbs left open the possibility of a later presidential visit to assess the spreading oil spill.
May 1st 2010
Quoted from The Atlantic
(President Obama plans to visit the catastrophe zone off Lousiana's coast within the next 48 hours as SecDef Gates mobilizes the Lousiana National Guard and WH convenes a principal-level homeland security response meeting. Republicans begin to question speed of Obama's response.)

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When the Master Orator or his Press Secretary pass out two conflicting statements within 2 days I feel we are entitled to ask, what does he intend doing?

jujuman13 said:

When the Master Orator or his Press Secretary pass out two conflicting statements within 2 days I feel we are entitled to ask, what does he intend doing?

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Is there benefit to be gained by having Obama on site?

Catz Part Deux said:

He dispatched the Navy and the Coast Guard. Did people think he was going to put on a wet suit and go down himself to fix things?

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That made me chuckle.

Im not picking on Obama here, its our politians as a whole really. I personally feel our founding fathers were made from a different mold then any of our recent leaders. They were men of action and much less men of office. I could very well see George Washington in the gulf, in a canoe, with a 5 gallon bucket skimming the water. While this may not have made a difference in the whole of things, I believe he would have done it anyway because he felt he had to try and do any and everything possible to fix the situation.

Now our leaders are much more men of office that organize and direct others and very rarely get there own hands dirty doing anything.

Baralis said:

That made me chuckle.

Im not picking on Obama here, its our politians as a whole really. I personally feel our founding fathers were made from a different mold then any of our recent leaders. They were men of action and much less men of office. I could very well see George Washington in the gulf, in a canoe, with a 5 gallon bucket skimming the water. While this may not have made a difference in the whole of things, I believe he would have done it anyway because he felt he had to try and do any and everything possible to fix the situation.

Now our leaders are much more men of office that organize and direct others and very rarely get there own hands dirty doing anything.

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While I agree that it would make me feel all warm and fuzzy to see Obama doing this, I have to say, I think there are definitely better ways for any President to spend his time. I certainly never criticized Bush for not, say, pitching in to help dig people out of the Twin Towers. I would have never dreamed of it.

There are only so many hours in a day. A person has got to prioritize. Presidents are persons. soooo....

Baralis said:

Now our leaders are much more men of office that organize and direct others and very rarely get there own hands dirty doing anything.

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That's because it isn't their job to do so. There is more important work for a president to do, on average, than bailing oil out of the gulf. Yeah, it would be heart-warming. So what?

We don't hire them to bail oil. We hire them to administer the people who do.

Catz Part Deux said:

Is there benefit to be gained by having Obama on site?

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Actually its quite the opposite. Him being there would distract resources from the task at hand.

megaprogman said:

Actually its quite the opposite. Him being there would distract resources from the task at hand.

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That's my thought as well. There are people out there that have the best clue possible working on this, it's probably best to leave them to the task.

megaprogman said:

Actually its quite the opposite. Him being there would distract resources from the task at hand.

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That's my thinking, as well. When Bush visited the areas impacted by Katrina, it actually pulled personnel away from more important tasks to protect him. It endangered the people that he was supposed to be visiting.

Obama does not need to be on site for the proper work to be done. And thank god, he's been smart enough, up to this point, to know this.

:roll:

Catz Part Deux said:

He dispatched the Navy and the Coast Guard. Did people think he was going to put on a wet suit and go down himself to fix things?

:roll:

Once it became clear that those agencies were unable to fix the problem and that this was potentially a massive catastrophe, it was then appropriate for Obama to visit himself and send his people.

But, the role of a president is primarily to ensure that the proper people to do the job are delegated to do so.

Click to expand...

He didn't dispatch the Coast Guard, they were probably on their way before Obi knew what was going on.

Why did it take 8-days to get his ass into gear?
This is what the Feds are supposed to be leaders in. Disaster relief. Not nationalizing the country industry by industry.

Where was Obi?

Right, he was out pandering and Balkanizing Amerika.
Crapping on Wall Street.
Telling people that there is a limit to what they should earn.

Nice job Schlo-Mo.

.

this thing is an environmental disaster

it's still bleeding at a precipitous rate, there's no stopping it, and it's likely to leak faster

it's gonna hit the EASTERN coast of florida

for EIGHT DAYS obama did nothing

indeed, admiral mary landry of the coast guard said on day 2: "the oil that was on the surface appeared to be merely residual oil from the fire"

anyone with a memory couldn't help but flash back to dhs' immediate response to mutallab's attempt to blow a plane out of the skies over detroit on christmas

a genuine "the system worked" moment

indeed, napolitano's dept of homeland security waited until DAY EIGHT to declare the gulf disaster "a spill of national significance"

not until DAY EIGHT did she "request a more robust response from the dod"

the white house has done nothing to contain this catastrophe

except play politics

and the admin is becoming increasingly defensive

gibbs released a "readout" of all the calls to governors the white house has made

a phone log---LOL!

these are the actions the white house has taken

on DAY EIGHT it (because this president is proficient at pointing fingers) began blaming bp

he said he wasn't gonna go to louisiana

then he said he was

he originally stood by his plan to drill off the eastern seaboard and above alaska

then the next day he reversed himself and put his plan on hold

unbelievable

so what in the way of real action has the white house taken in resonse to this catastrophe?

on DAY SEVEN, tuesday, april 27: HE WENT BACK TO IOWA!

LOL!

for the SECOND TIME since health care passed, he went to campaign kickoff country

last time his purpose, he said, was to convince his african american, youth, female and hispanic base that the health care he'd just CRAMMED was actually good for them

this time, he visited ottumwa, according to the ny times, to: "criticize senate republicans for blocking proposed legislation to tighten regulation of the financial system," to "convince voters before the midterm elections that his economic policies were working despite the high unemployment rate," to "extol the benefits of the economic stimulus plan..."

THESE are your president's priorities

the most incompetent, CRASS politician at the national level america has ever produced

too slick

BP Is Criticized Over Oil Spill, but U.S. Missed Chances to Act - NYTimes.com

Oil slick poses political peril for Obama - Washington Times

Obama not going to Gulf yet, maybe later?

RealClearPolitics - Politics - May 01, 2010 - Obama to go to Gulf soon for oil spill update

White House defends offshore drilling plan | Reuters

Will Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Jeopardize Obama's Offshore Drilling Policy, Energy Bill? - ABC News

In Greeting Iowa Voters, Obama Focuses on Finances - NYTimes.com[/QUOTE]

Catz Part Deux said:

That's because it isn't their job to do so. There is more important work for a president to do, on average, than bailing oil out of the gulf. Yeah, it would be heart-warming. So what?

We don't hire them to bail oil. We hire them to administer the people who do.

Click to expand...

I think you were missing my point

They always have something more important to do. There is always someone that is better suited to the job.

Its not about the gulf and its not about Obama its about how our political leaders view situations now vs how previous leaders viewed them.

There is a difference between this, 9/11 and Katrina

9/11 required an inspirational moment to provide moral support for the nation, Bush did that when he went to the ruins, a good thing

Katrina, being a massive incident with peoples lives at stake should have had more then just a fly by

The BP spill is on going incident a chronic illness rather then an acute one.

When the first few days the reports were that it would be fixed in day or so, and that the oil will be contained, there would have been no need to panic.

The best and only thing Obama can do is state that the people negatively effected by this oil spill will be compenstated and that BP will be doing the compensation

Baralis said:

I think you were missing my point

They always have something more important to do. There is always someone that is better suited to the job.

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Really. Was George Washington qualified to put on a wet suit, dive down, and fix this well? And would this have been the best use of his time, as commander in chief?

Your comments are simplistic and a little ridiculous.

maybe, but not many people really care about something a forums member says

important, in contrast, and even more ridiculous is the president saying---i won't go to LA, i will go to LA, i will drill, i won't drill...

i'll figure it all out when i get back from iowa!

LOL!

today, he politicized his commencement address to the hard working grads from the u of mich, going out of his way to attack "extremist" critics of big govt who might just find in their "off base" way that "perhaps violence is justifiable"

he then called on all sides to "tone it down"

LOL!

he just can't help himself

now, there's a message our kids need to hear as they head off into today's JOB MARKET

My Way News - Obama takes direct aim at anti-government rhetoric