Bonnie Erbe

Obama Scores Cheap Political Points in Gulf Oil Spill

May 14, 2010 RSS Feed Print

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By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

It's easy to point fingers and blame the other side. It's much tougher to 'fess up and admit that one is or may be partially responsible for a terrible situation. President Obama took the low road on this front late this week, scoring easy points against oil company executives for the horrendous oil spill still ongoing in the Gulf of Mexico. As the Washington Post reports:

Saying "the system failed" in the Gulf Coast, President Obama on Friday assailed oil company executives for their congressional testimony about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill earlier in the week. "I did not appreciate what I considered to be a ridiculous spectacle," Obama said.

Standing in the Rose Garden alongside top federal officials involved in the effort to stop ongoing the BP oil spill, Obama accused the oil executives of trying "to point the finger of blame at somebody else." "There is enough responsibility to go around," he said, including the federal government in that assessment.

Well, yes, at the end there he did include the federal government as being at fault as well. It is the U.S. government after all, that issues offshore oil drilling permits. It is the American people who are so hooked on gasoline that we are driving oil prices sky high and sucking up all available supplies.

But let's not forget the President supports offshore oil drilling. Whether he's a big fan or he comes to his support as a matter of political pragmatism, he still supports it. So he, the federal government, we gas consumers and the oil company executives are all at fault.

It should come as no surprise to anyone when an oil rig blows. It's as natural a part of the gasoline harvesting and transport process as are oil spills from tankers. As long as we love and consume gasoline, huge quantities of the oil from which it is made will end up in our waters, polluting them, killing fish and birds and ruining beaches. It's as simple as that and yes, there is plenty of blame to go around.

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Tags:: Gulf of Mexico,; energy,; oil,; environment,; Barack Obama

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The crude is still spilling and the BP upper management are acting like "doe's in the headlights." They've lied, they were caught at it, they are still trying to make a profit from the problem. There is a certain amount of good faith that is given to industries the make credible claims that their technology is safe. When self-professed liars are "playing stupid" and running a "dog and pony show" in congress while an unprecedented catastrophe of unpredictable consequences where a stupid pipe is spewing poison into the biosphere, it isn't politics. Its common sense; you just don't let people like that do it again.
Certain transgressions warrant severe consequences and permanent restraint. It is a matter of common sense not politics that we don't return serial killers back in the streets.
BP reassured us, they lied, they said that it was too bad, then they say they want to do it again. They are socially and economically euphoric, inappropriate, arrogant and view themselves as above the law. There are institutions that handle people like this to keep the rest of us safe. I personally would let any of these people drive a school bus.
Without consequences, there are literally million of other people who can and will take there place. These people are not our friends, they are not just a bunch of cowboys having a good time. These psychiatrically-challenged, perfumed, gray suited liars are predators, they get away with what they do because their perversity to too large for most of us to imagine. They will stalk the US, find a weak elements and predate until there is nothing left.

Craig Linq of IA 6:10PM May 27, 2010

Have you noticed the conservative talking points on practically any issue, but especially on the Gulf oil spill? First, blame big government, and, second, the Obama administration. What caused this "accident" is pretty clear. BP oil has a history(as do so many large corporations) of violating government rules and regulations, and getting by on the cheap (remember BP did not want to have a backup blowout protection system because it was "too expensive" to install. Our conservative friends fault government for not monitoring things closely enough, while conveniently forgetting that in their zeal to let the "free market" do whatever it wants, they have historically supported Republican efforts to prevent adequate government regulation of business practices (eg. coal industry, financial institutions, health insurance companies, oil companies, etc.). Over and over we see Republicans saying no, no, no, to every effort to put teeth into government regulations so that the public can be protected. The result is government agencies that are toothless, weak, and often staffed by the very industry people who are the presumed subject of regulation. Then these conservatives have the gall to blame government when a catastrophe occurs, knowing full well that they have set up the situation for this sort of outcome.

Jon Iannitti of NY 3:28PM May 22, 2010

I'm not familiar with the political fallout with regard to the crisis.
But certainly those effected by the crisis should at least be familiar with potential risks associated with their industry. If BP is found to be culpable and negligent for causing the crisis, then hold BP responsible for damages.
But if this is purely an accident where culpability and neglicence cannot be assigned then those effected by the crisis have to accept the fact that what has happened is a risk of that particular environment . . . a consequence to operating in the industry. Essentially, it's immoral to expect to reap rewards when things are good, but not have to suffer consequences when things are bad.
Unfortunately, the tendence today is one of greed and a desire to punish success which have taken precendence over right and wrong.

david of ID 12:25PM May 19, 2010

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