"We're in charge, right boys?"
"From Day One."
"And cleaning house at Interior."
That was pretty much President Obama's stance on the big oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico during his press conference. First, he repeated the mantra that from "Day One", his administration was on top of the problem. Meanwhile, it's Day 38 and that oil just keeps gushing out of that hole. Obama also repeatedly referred to the corruption and mess within the Department of the Interior and the Mineral Management Service (MMS) when George Bush was president.
It's all Bush's fault.
You see, under Bush, there was this corrupt relationship between the MMS and the oil companies. When Obama came into office, he appointed Ken Salazar to be Secretary of Interior and "clean house". Salazar was doing just that, but the job was not "completely" done when the disaster happened (according to Obama).
In a "completely unrelated" matter, the head of the MMS, Elizabeth Birnbaum, resigned today. When asked about it, (was she fired or resigned?) Obama professed complete ignorance. He was busy on something else. He refused to confirm that Birnbaum was basically fired. Anonymous White House sources say she was fired.
Elizabeth Birnbaum
But I am encouraged. The President reiterated that his administration is leading the effort in Louisiana, he is in charge, and that he accepts full responsibility (because he is the President).
And he has fired Elizabeth Birnbaum-but he doesn't know it.
Bush's fault? Everybody knows it's Jimmy Carter's fault!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite thing about all this is how some of the right-wing pundits are calling it Obama's "Katrina", which is essentially them finally admitting what a colossal f$%*-up the Bush administration did on that one.
As to whose fault it really is - it's BP's fault.
Yes, it is BP's fault. Brilliant deduction.
ReplyDeleteKatrina was Mother Nature's fault.
Gary, sometimes I can't believe how dense you are. Sorry. You always excuse the people on whose side you are on, and point fingers at the other side.
ReplyDeleteThis has nothing to do with Katrina or any other desaster in the past.
What difference does it make whose fault it is? We are all to blame. No one wants to reduce consumption, comfort and dependency on oil. Corrupt politicians and oil companies take advantage of that.
Instead of everyone working to come up with what's best for the common good, fingers are pointed and the Messiah, Obama was supposed to be, isn't doing what people think he should. Like what?? Scoop out the oil with his own hands to show that he is there,
I think people are getting stupider by the minute.
The difference is this - weather reports let us know that Katrina was coming. Also, I don't think that Obama has had a "You're doing one hell of a job, Brownie" moment with all this.
ReplyDeleteLance,
ReplyDeleteI think Obama came close at his press conference yesterday (a Brownie moment).
Calm down boys and girls, and stop pointing your fingers. Any sane, well informed American citizen knows that the federal government is big enough, has enough civil service positions that do NOT change hands with each new administration, runs according to a huge number of administrative regs that take YEARS to change, and is directed by enough agency heads whose terms overlap changes in administration, that nobody could precisely say its ALL this president's fault or that president's fault.
ReplyDeleteYes, that does mean GHWB gets SOME credit for the upturn in the economy under Bill Clinton, and Bill Clinton does get SOME of the blame for letting the economy run on such unstable rails that it eventually collapsed on GWB's watch. After all, Clinton signed off on repeal of Glass-Steagall.
Now, as to this oil thing. We all agree it is BP's fault. We all know that President Obama has had trouble getting appointed positions in his administration filled because Republican senators hold up even taking a vote on whether to consent after advising. I'm not entirely surprised he hasn't gotten around to firing the head of the mines and minerals agency until now.
The momentum in that agency for the past several years at least, has been to take the money and turn a blind eye toward safety. That momentum was either established or sharply increased under GWB, the Texas oil man who never saw a bankruptcy his daddy's friends couldn't rescue him from. To paraphrase a popular Tea Party slogan, "work harder, dozens of oil companies are depending on you to subsidize their operations."
Between now and 2012, I will be carefully considering:
1) Was the culture of the mines and minerals agency overtly brought to the president's attention before the BP oil well blew?
2) If so, why didn't he act forcefully to correct it?
3) If not, how could or should he have found out about it sooner?
4) Now that everyone knows, has he acted vigorously and effectively within the limits of his office (there are limits to his powers, are there not?) to correct what is obviously wrong?
5) Ditto for the BP well.
Katrina was primarily a question of, all these people are sitting there destitute and without shelter after the storm, now, what are we doing about it? Any competent manager with adequate resources could have solved that.
The BP oil spill is primarily a question of, oh, there is a huge gush of oil miles down on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, requiring experimental techniques of unknown reliability to even TRY to stop it. Now, do we want a government agency to issue a decree that the oil shall stop flowing, or do we want it looking over the shoulders of those with expertise to TRY to fix it and try to see they act effectively?
Mr. Fouse, I am most glad that our president is not King Canute, and knows full well he cannot DECREE that a hole at the bottom of the ocean be plugged forthwith. (Actually, Canute didn't believe the tide would roll back at his command, he was showing up a brown nosing sycophant who exclaimed that he could).