Government says leak detected 'a distance from' oil well

Zyphlin said:

Lets not say its equally plausible that the Government doesn't want to lose out on fine money and the publicity of continuing to demonize BP and thus are pushing for a solution that keeps the oil flowing rather than stops it.

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Honestly I'd like to see how much mileage you think the administration is getting out of "demonizing" BP. My impression is that this spill has been yet another albatross for the admin that they'd like to see over sooner rather than later. Other than focusing blame for the oil spill on BP, I don't think there's really anything to be gained.

invisiblgorilla said:

This crisis has been crappy for the administration. It has a much stronger motivation to end it with the elections coming up.

Honestly I'm surprised they had the balls to propose uncapping it considering the potential backlash.

I don't see why it's unplausible to assume that the government would want to keep this disaster from getting monumentally worse.

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Obama doesn't care about the upcoming election. He is focused on completing his agendas while he still can. The cap and trade bill is coming back this month. The oil flowing will be good for that cause. He needs it jammed through before Nov. because he knows the Dems are going to lose. Never let a crisis go to waste.

Barbbtx said:

Obama doesn't care about the upcoming election.

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Really? Since when did politicians stop caring about elections? Obama is not a lame duck and I find it hard to believe they've given up or at the very least wouldn't want to minimize any shift in the balance of power.

Barbbtx said:

The oil flowing will be good for that cause. He needs it jammed through before Nov. because he knows the Dems are going to lose. Never let a crisis go to waste.

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I just don't see how a few more days of oil would change anyone's mind on this. If anything, a more catastrophic leak (that the administration is obstensibly trying to avoid) would be more helpful to furthering their agenda by your logic.

So if the government and BP swapped positions would you then assert that the administration was trying to make things worse by keeping the cap on? Your assumptions about their agenda is un-related to the facts of the matter as far as I can tell.

BCR said:

Maybe this is more serious than it looks? BP and the Obama administration are disagreeing on what should be done here, BP wants to leave the cap on but the White House wants them to take it off and outfit it so it can capture the oil in container ships and relieve pressure on the cap. Apparently there has been seepage and what looks to be the presence of Methane gases also leaking out.

BP probably doesn't want to remove the cap because it could take up to a week to refit it which means lots of additional $$$$ in fines .

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Of course Obama wants to uncap the well...:rofl

Obama wants more crisis bang for his buck. He can't allow BP, et. al. to look like the hero in this ordeal; all the while he looks like the government trough head that didn't do jack ****.

This wasn't taken on the American gulf coast. What are you trying to pull here?

BCR said:

I'm pretty sure it's the unexpected pressure readings that are worrying the White House, and I could care less if it might be a "natural" leak..If it's near by we need to assume the worst.

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And, the WH knows what? about what those pressure readings should be?!?

Crunch said:

Scientists Find That Tons Of Oil Seep Into The Gulf Of Mexico Each Year

The oil that was detected could be natural, and the government needs to prove it isn't before they blame BP for it..... or don't we live in a country that prizes due process.

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Oh, but that's different!