Americans' disgust with their government will only worsen as President Obama is increasingly seen as ineffective in mounting federal resources to address the BP oil spill. This could kill a second term for him. by Joel S. Hirschhorn
(libertarian)
Monday, May 24, 2010
Over thirty days into the BP oil spill one mile down into the Gulf of Mexico it should be clear to every objective person that President Obama has failed miserably. This oil spill is more than a disaster or crisis; it is a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. This environmental catastrophe will quickly morph into a national economic catastrophe as economic doomsday facing the fishing and tourism industries generate countless negative economic ripples throughout the US economy. Unemployment and economic growth will suffer.
President Obama has shown no effective leadership or any proportional response to this multi-catastrophe. All those who rightfully criticized President George W. Bush for his mishandling of the Katrina nightmare should wake up and see that Obama is failing to use every ounce of federal resources to compensate for the total failure of BP to stop the oil hemorrhaging from the floor of the Gulf. The BP failure to stop the gushing oil spill is sadly consistent with its failure to prevent the firestorm on the oil rig to begin with.
And now we learn that the Interior Department - Obama's agency - has recently granted new permits and environmental waivers for a number of deep sea oil drilling projects. Some are even deeper than the current failed BP project. How could a rational government do this even as the BP oil spill remains active, uncontrolled and rapidly advancing on more and more coastal and marine resources.
Where is the national outrage? Even from Democrats. Where are the loud calls from everyone and the media demanding a stronger a federal response? Where is Obama's clear anger and appropriate firing of many federal officials, starting with the Interior Secretary? Where is the Justice Department doing its job of quickly starting criminal prosecutions of BP and its two major contractors?
All Americans, regardless of their partisan positions, should be hollering incessantly for Obama to wake up and take this catastrophe a lot more seriously.
We should be sending a clear message that this BP oil spill catastrophe will justify preventing Obama from getting a second term. Maybe that would work to get this smarmy politician to do what is right and necessary for millions of Americans that will suffer a long time because of this corporate failure.
Obama should have seen this BP oil spill as an environmental invasion just as serious as a traditional invasion by an armed force or some awful terrorist attack. He should have mobilized the enormous federal resources in countless areas to not only deal with the oil invasion and contamination of countless natural resources but, even more critically, to stop the damn gushing of oil at the sea bottom.
It is only a matter of time until the horrendous quantities of oil wrap around Florida and then up the East coast. Maybe then more Americans will get as excited and alarmed as those poor people along the Gulf directly in the path of the oil invasion.
Maybe then President Obama will finally and belatedly show some presidential leadership. Maybe not.
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Joel,
Usually I'm on the same page with you but this time I have to disagree somewhat. In the instance of Katrina, it was very evident what was wrong and exactly how to fix it. This time the spill is happening where only submersibles can get to it and for a long time it was not known how extensive this spill is. Obama has ordered a panel of specialists, has sent scientists and others to brainstorm and other oil companies have been brought in to try to solve this problem. I do know that the Coast Guard and other federal agencies were brought in from the get go. Unfortunately, Obama can't wave a magic wand and set all to rights. And initially, when it was not known how huge this is, the administration could have been restricted from taking over by law.
The trouble started with BP lying to get their permits by stating that they had the capability to take care of any sort of spill - "no problem". It was exacerbated by the MMS being in bed with big oil and not checking to make sure this disaster could never occur. It was further exacerbated by BP deliberately downplaying the size of the spill and the amount of oil gushing from the leak and there was no way that I'm aware of for anyone to verify early on that they were woefully inaccurate.
I believe there should be criminal investigations into several arenas but that can wait until all sources of the leak are stopped. I do have a problem with the Corp of Engineers not issuing emergency permits so that coastal states can do whatever they deem necessary to prevent the spill from coming ashore. I also believe that if there are absorbent materials like hay that can help sop up the oil in the wetlands then a call from all farmers should have been mobilized by local, state, and federal government.
I agree that issuing additional permits for offshore drilling is ludicrous. I have been calling for a switch to alternate energy sources for years and years because more than 20 years after the Valdez spill, the area hasn't recuperated and reparations haven't been made to those who lost their livelihoods.
And even in the face of this, when we don't yet know the extent of the repercussions (which will be huge), there are those that still are calling to "Drill, Baby, Drill" not only in the Gulf but in the Artic where the frigid waters make spill clean up even more difficult. We need to get off our addiction to oil. Now! We all share in this disaster because none of us are willing to make the hard choices to switch from fossil fuels.
