Coast Guard official: "I'm just slow and dumb."

[Feron]

The oil mass continues moving west, and as the toxic sludge begins to make landfall in Terrebonne, Capt. Edwin Stanton, who heads up the Coast Guard's response, is taking blame.

"The governor is right. It's too slow, and if it's anybody's fault, it's mine, for not pushing (BP) hard enough perhaps,” Stanton said.“We did have a problem with getting boom down here to begin with, but there seems to be boom that is in the staging areas that needs to be put out."

Then, in an exchange with a reporter, he went further.

Stanton: "It’s my job to direct this response in Louisiana.”

Reporter: “Why didn’t you do it?”

Stanton: “Well, the why -- is that really important?”

Reporter: “Yes sir, we live here.”

Stanton: “Well, I guess I'm just slow and dumb."

http://www.wwltv.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/Jindal-questions-oil-spill-response-Coast-Guard-official-takes-blame--94624594.html

The text really doesn't communicate the utter contempt this tool has for Louisianans. There's a video at the link.

This is why Gulf coasters are so frustrated.

[woodsprite]

1. To me, sounds like he's planning on taking the heat/fall for someone else. n/t

[KeepItReal]

2. "It shouldn't be up to BP to decide" - Gov. Jindal

Can't stand Gov. Jindal, but he is correct here:

"It shouldn't be up to BP to decide when the boom gets deployed, or when the skimmers get deployed. So, one of the reasons we brought the Coast Guard with us today, was to see for themselves -- the boom's not out there,” Jindal said.“The oil's coming in. It doesn't do any us any good to have skimmers sitting in trailers and boom sitting on docks. It needs to be deployed now."

[ProSense]

4. It's so easy being Republican:

for the oil companies when they drill and for the oil companies when they spill.

[tavalon]

5. I believe that Bobby Jindal is getting some karma payback here

But never in my wildest dreams would I have believed he was so bad as to get saddled with the worst environmental disaster ever.

[hatrack]

7. Well, at least now we know who Rand Paul is taking advice from on public speaking . . .

:eyes:

[dgibby]

3. BP should be in charge of stopping the gusher.

The Govt should be in charge of everything else, and BP should be billed.

This is already an unmitigated environmental disaster of epic proportions, but if this Admin doesn't step in and assert some authority, it's going to be a political disaster for Obama as well.

[tavalon]

6. What if BPs goal is to save the oil rather than save the gulf?

It would seem to me that we need independent scientists out the figuring out where to place the bombs to close this gash. Is BP thinking that way? I don't think so. They are really only serving the money interest and our gulf means far more than just that.

[dgibby]

9. Good point. n/t

[malaise]

15. Ding ding

We have a winner

[Catherina]

10. We can't wait around all day for people who had no plan, want not plan

and have been total pricks in the PAST when called on their criminal behavior. During one of their past disasters (another itsy bitsy spill), when they were called in front of a grand jury and asked to turn over documents related to their crimes, they threw over 65 MILLION, mostly irrelevant, pages at them.

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/20/fmr_epa_investigator_scott_west_us

BP doesn't care if we live or die. These terrorists needs to be cuffed, indicted and sent to Guantanamo Bay.

Plus, BP will never pay. Let's face it right now, the insult to injury is that we taxpayers are going to be on the hook for this one. BP is the supplier of oil to the war machine that's used to protect capitalism. They know they have the upper hand.

[Scuba]

11. Nailed it.

[reggie the dog]

14. Yet many here demonized Chavez for nationalizing oil.....

[chill_wind]

8. Stanton: “Well, the why -- is that really important?”

Pathetic.

[xchrom]

12. The why not important?

Malicious stupidity.

[coti]

13. Then he should be fired and replaced.

Let's get someone in there who will fix the problem and not just talk out of his ass in interviews.