Obama on the beach
As Richard M. Nixon could have told Barack Obama, any time you’re on the beach in dress clothes and the press is watching, it’s probably not good news.
In this case, in an embarrassingly small-ball version of “Message: I Care,” President Obama got himself caught on video explaining to Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph how tar balls could be cleaned up manually from the beaches where they’ve washed up.
If Ms. Randolph asked the president, “Um… but what about the marshes around the corner drenched in floating oil, or the massive underwater plumes — how do we clean those up?!”, it didn’t make it into this clip.
But, to be fair, in his prepared remarks at the scene, Obama made a seemingly honest effort to recognize the grave toll of the catastrophe wrought by Big Oil, and how the government he heads is obligated to respond:
As I’ve said before, BP is the responsible party for this disaster. What that means is they’re legally responsible for stopping the leak and they’re financially responsible for the enormous damage that they’ve created. And we’re going to hold them accountable, along with any other party responsible for the initial explosion and loss of life on that platform.
But as I said yesterday, and as I repeated in the meeting that we just left, I ultimately take responsibility for solving this crisis. I’m the President and the buck stops with me. So I give the people of this community and the entire Gulf my word that we’re going to hold ourselves accountable to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to stop this catastrophe, to defend our natural resources, to repair the damage, and to keep this region on its feet. Justice will be done for those whose lives have been upended by this disaster, for the families of those whose lives have been lost — that is a solemn pledge that I am making.
. . . To the people of the Gulf Coast: I know that you’ve weathered your fair share of trials and tragedy. I know there have been times where you’ve wondered if you were being asked to face them alone. I am here to tell you that you’re not alone. You will not be abandoned. You will not be left behind. The cameras at some point may leave; the media may get tired of the story; but we will not. We are on your side and we will see this through. We’re going to keep at this every day until the leak has stopped, until this coastline is clean, and your communities are made whole again. That’s my promise to you. And that is a promise on behalf of a nation. It is one that we will keep.
Fine, Mr. President; we’ll be watching to make sure you do.
And for myself, I acknowledge that an epic, slow-motion disaster like this is a tough situation to deal with, and I’m sure President Obama feels like he’s doing the best he can within the constraints he has to operate under… just like with everything else. It’s just painfully awkward to watch, that’s all.
(Cross-posted at Firedoglake.)
Tags: BP Oil Spill, President Obama
May 28th, 2010 at 7:36 pm
How come the for profit corporation that has to pay for this is in charge of capping the well, containing the spill and clean up? Why isn’t some other for profit corporation doing it at cost plus, spare no expense?
May 29th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Come on over to the anti-Obama camp… the water’s fine!
May 30th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
Oppo – what, join the ‘Drill, Baby, Drill?’ camp? Join the ‘regulations are bad drillers don’t need real safety equipment’ camp? The ‘criticizing BP is unAmerican’ camp? The ‘in the pockets of the oil companies so we’ll cap their liabilities’ camp? The ‘let’s all buy SUVs and to hell with Communist CAFE standards’ camp? Not sure what you are suggesting, but I imagine it somehow involves either incredible intellectual ‘flexibility,’ schizophrenia or perhaps just ignorance/stupidity.
May 31st, 2010 at 6:47 am
The bottom line: There’s not much any government can do to cap a runaway spill. Except maybe send in troops to arrest oil executives from, say, the Big Five companies and force them to come up with a solution that works. /sarcasm off/
This is one horrific mess, whether on Obama’s watch, Bush’s watch or President God’s watch. Nobody in or out of government can make this right. Oh, there’ll be calls for investigation and, maybe, somebody will do a perp walk to jail. Meanwhile, a swath of ocean and land are damaged for decades to come.
Will the Gulf spill result in less U.S dependence on oil or better safety standards? Probably not. The simple truth is, as long as offshore drilling goes smoothly, everyone is happy. When there’s a catastrophe, it’s a big one, with enough blame and hypocrisy to last for years.
May 31st, 2010 at 2:15 pm
greenboy,
You must be thrilled to have a reader from outside your close-knit circle! Thanks for the kind words, but my opposition to Obama has nothing to do with your suppositions, and everything to do with the fact that he is a corporatist shill. You’ll see.
June 1st, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Always nice to mix it up a bit, like in the (bad) good old days. Leftist Oppo? Sure, Obama is disappointing on numerous accounts. We are still caught in the quicksand of Iraq and escalating in the quicksands of Iran. He is still pushing for more drilling and the return of the dangerous light water reactor. He is still wiretapping people. Gitmo is still open, and he wants to keep some 45 odd folks in ‘indefinite detention.’ I could go on. However, the question is with whom you compare him. What would a McCain/Palin administration have looked like? I imagine we would have invaded Iran by now, and who knows what else the old fool and the ninny would have done. If you think things are bad now though, wait until Fall when the Dem majority narrows in the House and the Senate falls to the Reactionaries once again. Truly America has fallen on sad times.
June 2nd, 2010 at 4:32 pm
What would a McCain/Palin administration have looked like?
medals of freedom for andrew breitbart, glenn beck and rush limbaugh
mandatory nationwide conceal/carry
euthanasia for anyone failing to take swine flu vaccine
death panels for long-term unemployed
continued drilling in gulf while praising “heckuva job”
concentration camps for democrats
fatal gas chambers for anyone reported as progressive, liberal, gay, or failing to pass snow line on color bar.
subsidized credit default swaps
tax rebates for offshore corporations
elimination of department of education and public schooling
burning of all library materials
prohibition of internet routing and service
nationalization of full radio spectrum
mandatory bible study