Did Pres. Obama make a mistake
fife
Posts: 3,327
yesterday when he told the American people that he is "fully engaged" and ultimately responsible for what he called a catastrophe in the gulf.
I don't know if this was smart of him politically. but what do you all think?
I don't know if this was smart of him politically. but what do you all think?
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It's clear he is not responsible for the event, but it will make him look good if the current attempt to plug the hole works... ... I thought his comments yesterday and today were clear and good.
who issued the waivers and who wanted to drill more?
Are you blaming Obama for this?
yes and no ... the gov't of the United States is most definitely complicit in this disaster ... he just so happens to be commander in chief now ...
I think Obama is doing a good job of handling this and gave good responses to this matter.
He will probably use this opportunity to take on the big oil companies and try to limit our dependency on oil (i hope) - Big Oil Company's are no joke- You sow the major challenge Obama had with the Insurance company's- Oil company's aren't going to roll over ....
I don't think he made a mistake by accepting responsibility for this event. He will spin this and take advantage of the attention to take on the oil companies (i hope that is the plan)
if his performance is tied to his ability to manage the publicity surrounding this then maybe ... but the dude failed when he sign the waivers setting the stage for this accident ... and the fact he has granted another such waiver since the accident shows how this grandstanding in the media is just face time and that ultimately, he neither has the gumption or the desire to tackle big oil ...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
We can all do what we can to offset our carbon emissions and reduce or eliminate our footprint, but in meantime, the following things are still true:
1) A LOT of people still drive cars that are either partially or wholly powered by oil
2) A LOT of products (more than most people imagine) contain petroleum
3) As a result of 1) and 2), Big Oil companies are EXTRAORDINARILY powerful.
The ability of oil companies to influence legislation and legislators through lobbying (not mention their newfound ability to spend unlimited amounts on political advertisements, thank some of the same Supreme Court justices who gave us George W. Bush in 2000 for that, and the justices he nominated afterwards for that matter) is HUGE.
It's nice to say fuck the oil companies and their lobbyist toads (just like it's nice to say fuck wall st. lobbyists or health insurance industry lobbyists), but in this town, you have to score your points when and where you can, and take the wins you can get, as the deeply flawed but hopefully ultimately beneficial health care bill shows (at the end of the day, 30 million more people insured is NOT an insignificant accomplishment). The financial, climate, and immigration legislation, assuming Obama can pass all that, will similarly be weaker than us progressives would prefer, but is it better than having Bush and Cheney in there fucking us all in the ass for eight years? I think so.
So back to Obama, does the spill demonstrate why he should just eliminate all offshore drilling? Probably. We certainly shouldn't be trying to scale it up. Could the Administration have done more or better on this spill over the last month plus? Absolutely, but hindsight is 20/20 and you don't get do-overs on these things. Is showing he is fully engaged and doing everything we can to fix this the right move? I think so. Remaining aloof and trying to distance ourselves from the disaster doesn't help anybody with something of this magnitude.
Incidentally, funny how all the right-wingers who say governement is the problem, we need less of it, etc. etc. like Gov. Bobby Jindall sing a different tune when it comes to their state's stimulus checks or when a disaster like this happens. Suddenly they're all, wtf government, where are you?
Anyway, end rant, but I think this is the first time I've discussed politics on these forums, so that's cool. I look forward to engaging my fellow PJ fans (one of the best and smartest communities of any kind on the planet) in future intelligent discussions.
Elsewhere: Wantagh, NY 8/23/00; Clarkston, MI 6/26/03; Denver, CO 7/3/06 (with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers); Bristow, VA 5/13/10
Better loud than too late...
It makes the Bush timeframe for Katrina look rather speedy. That's scary.
Sounds like a defense of Bush.
And there are differences in the Katrina and BP events... the only thing in common is the location. A comparison of the two are typically made by partisan lackey dupes... which surprizes me since it came from you.
Hail, Hail!!!
Responsible... in that it is the responsibility of the United States to hold those responsible for the oil gusher (it is not a spill... it is not a leak... it is a fucking gusher... like a 5 foot diameter fire hose of crude oil) accountable for their decisions, actions and responses. It is the responsibility of the United States to hold these fucking asshole's feet to the fire in shutting this fucking thing down as quickly as possible. And it is the responsibility of the United States to penalize them for their negligent decisions, actions and responses (or lack thereof).
...
But, dopey FOX News watchers are going to listen to partisan assholes spew their partisan bullshit to advance the Republican agenda and you will see the Obama/BP link on the Tea Party signs. I can picture Glenn Beck's chalkboard going from Obama to blowing up the pipeline... after becoming a Nazi.
Hail, Hail!!!
Not a defense at all. Obama sure has been busy with things like his second vacation during this mess, at least he cut it short.
While i agree with you on most points here except that it was the government who approved them for drilling. i hear a report (and i am sorry that i can't find the link) that said that BP has the worst record for safety. I think we should hold the government responsible for allowing this company to drill but not for the actual spill if that makes sense
I agree... the offshore oil drilling is a risky business, frought with all sorts of disaster scenarios. It should not have been allowed.
And hold the 'Drill, Baby, Drill' crowd responsible, too. Get their fat lazy asses down to the Gulf and clean that shit up, too. Start with their cheerleader bitch, Sarah.
Hail, Hail!!!
Most incompetent president ever.
And save ur whiny breath Bush-haters, cuz this is YOUR guy, and even moderates are sick of hearing your shit.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Fucking astronaut.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Moderates are so sick of him, his approval rating is 48%... It's not the 60% he had when he took office, but it's still a darn sight higher than Bush's rating, and the % of people who approve of the job he's doing is still 5% above the % of people who disapprove.
It still amazes me that people seem to forget he came down here on May 2... half the country is acting like his most recent visit was the first time he'd set foot in Louisiana since the explosion. As it is, nobody knew the magnitude of the disaster until a week after the explosion - unlike Katrina, where people knew right away, but Bush went to clear scrub in Crawford anyway.
I'm not absolving Obama of blame - I'd like it if he gave BP a royal ass kicking, then got someone else to clean up the Gulf and send BP the bill - but it's not like Bush was better in his handling of Katrina.
On a side note - and I don't think I've ever seen Unsung say this, so in case anyone thinks I'm attributing this to him, I'm not, I'm just going off on a tangent - if one more conservative redneck down here says "DO YOU MISS BUSH YET?" I'm going to renounce pacifism for five minutes and beat them to a pulp. One guy doing a C+/C- job does NOT make me miss a guy who got an F...
While I think of it (minor threadjack), I hope your family is well. I noticed you hadn't posted on your previous thread about your stepfather - hope the family is doing okay.
I agree though, the oil cheerleaders should be the ones cleaning up.
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