Obama: Gov't in charge of oil disaster response

[ProSense]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama moved aggressively to show his government is in charge of the Gulf oil spill on Thursday, calling the gushing leak an "unprecedented disaster" and blasting a "scandalously close relationship" between oil companies and regulators.

"The American people should know that from the moment this disaster began, the federal government has been in charge of the response effort," Obama told a news conference. He was responding to criticism that his administration had been slow to act and had left BP in charge of plugging the leak.

Obama said many critics failed to realize "this has been our highest priority."

He conceded that "people are going to be frustrated until it stops."


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100527/ap_on_bi_ge/us_obama_14

[joanmj]

1. Frustrated at the sheer volume of oil in the water....

and quit taking oil company money in the campaign.

[CynicalObserver]

2. I guess since he is in charge

he might get back to Louisiana on their proposal to put sand dykes up before it is too late to stop anything.

The delay on approval at the federal level for what will obviously be an ecological nightmare when they delay long enough is inexcusable by even the most ardent apologist. Given the publicity given to this issue, the white house is clearly aware of it and has chosen not to get involved in motivating the bureaucracy or using any legally available presidential waiver under the authorizing legislation.

To put it another way, you know your beach is about to be faced with massive oil coming onshore. You can delay and do nothing and have a very oily beach, or put up a lot of sand to block the oil, or delay long enough to cover the beach in oil, and then approve it and claim credit for approving it while making sure the actual economy of the area and the coastline is ruined. I am personally betting they go for choice C.

Maybe members from south louisiana will understand this. Carville seems to have woken up, but then again it is his state.

[Devil_Fish]

3. Excuse me President Obama, check out this YouTube of your Coast Gard...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHdwpFdpjVg

Who's in charge again?

[PufPuf23]

4. I am glad this was made clear today and we learned the facts from Obama.

Thad Stevens is the Incident Commander under the Incident Command Structure under NIMS and is in charge. I think he is a pretty good guy based on what I have read about his past and my own visceral knowledge.

I am knowledgeable about the NIMS ISC structure and was confused. I worked USDA 1969-85 when most of the federal environmental laws were enacted and the ICS structure became common (starting mid 70s) and under GWB by statute under Homeland Security via FEMA incorporation under HS.

All in all I liked what Obama said today and support the man more pragmatically now. Obama is not perfect nor all knowing and more flawed than I expected (and I would rather be wrong and suffering early dementia).

I am disappointed and confused about the top kill but have more math and science and engineering background than most.

The day started with IC Admiral Stevens saying there was success only a backtrack and now knowing (actually who the hell knows here in the hinterlands what is reality) that the "mud" injection ended at midnight before Steven's first optimistic statement that there was a solution to the gusher problem.

The fault on the side of the Feds is the blatant bad faith NEPA process -- just absurd -- which also makes easy to track tools in the federal structure (not mentioned today in the presser). Porn and parties, and gifts are a diversion from the professional misconduct and no doubt systematic marginalization of scientists that put their (likely most pragmatic) reality against those that were more interested in career. There is a dangerous problem in putting non-scientists in to manage scientists; better scientists with natural talent in management and / or politics rise from the population of scientists. We also have long sold fossil fuel resources under terms and conditions that our third world "enemies" have nationalized to benefit the citizens rather than be victims of international corporations.

I really hope the gusher is solved as fast as possible by agency and individual genius or happenstance. This is truly a ultra-huge environmental disaster that will impact the nation and our closest neighbors for generations (though it will seem faster because the true past will be forgotten in narrative).

Pardon my ramble, this has been a day I spent to much attention on events.