James Carvile on Obama and the oil spill.

[JohnSmith2007 353]

James Carvile on Obama and the oil spill.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I agree with James that the President needs to get more involved in this, but this statement explains why Obama seems sluggish with responding to the oil spill:

There are several possible reasons for the administration's reluctance to take charge of the recovery effort. No one—not BP, not the administration—seems to know how to stop the gushing well. Nor do they know just how bad this mess could get. The administration would prefer that the blood stay on BP's hands.

There's also the awkward fact that weeks before the spill, the White House announced a vast expansion of offshore drilling. Eighteen days before the Deepwater Horizon blowout, Obama observed, "It turns out, by the way, that oil rigs today generally don't cause spills." Even in the wake of the disaster, he's continued to support offshore drilling, only calling for a time-out on expansion plans. Perhaps because of the administration's need to defend its embrace of drilling, it hasn't used the BP debacle to push for an end to fossil fuel dependence.

link

[SMOKE 1,426]

James Carvile

that guy creeps me out. he looks like the guy from poltergeist

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I agree with James that the President needs to get more involved in this, but this statement explains why Obama seems sluggish with responding to the oil spill:

link

There are other perspectives on this as well. I liked the point raised by "Die Welt" - translation published by "Der Spiegel":

"Washington's oversight of the oil industry has failed. That is not surprising -- it's like a junkie trying to control his dealer."

"It has been said that the US Environmental Protection Agency is considering withdrawing all government contracts, drilling licenses and leases from BP. The oil giant has 22,000 oil and gas wells in the US worth $16 billion (€13 billion) -- almost 40 percent of BP's entire turnover. Such a move would be crushing. And it would be almost impossible to push through. BP is also one of the most important fuel suppliers of the US military. BP's defenders would merely have to point out that any move against the company would endanger US national security. The past bears this out: BP has been forced to pay tens of millions in penalties to the US government and has been able to successfully defend itself against charges of criminal negligence despite four major -- and fatal -- accidents."

[one...two...tree 2,762]

There are other perspectives on this as well. I liked the point raised by "Die Welt" - translation published by "Der Spiegel":

Interesting. Thanks for the link.

[SMR 368]

that guy creeps me out. he looks like the guy from poltergeist

Actually, he looks like Gollum/Smeagol from the Lord of the Rings movies.