BP Spilllin'

[Magic Wand]

BP Spills Coffee

Is anyone else as freaked out about the oil spill as I am?
It's looking more and more like the End of Days.  Life as we knew it is OVER!

[DRobinson]

I'm with you Magic. This thing is huge and BP & the Obama administration seem to be asleep at the switch. I hope I'm wrong and it turns out to have less impact than I think... but I don't think so.

[Hypestyle]

...In the upcoming new Sub-Mariner book, I wonder if Namor will go after Tony Hayward.. the old Oracle, Inc. was set up to purchase/shut down the worst environmental offenders..

--Seriously, I hope harsh, example-setting fines are levied against this group, and congress drafts a new environmental reform bill that will have reverse the de-regulation of the past several decades....

[Curtis Metcalf]

I'm with you Magic. This thing is huge and BP & the Obama administration seem to be asleep at the switch. I hope I'm wrong and it turns out to have less impact than I think... but I don't think so.

I'm concerned about the impact too, but what do you think the administration should be doing?

[DRobinson]

I'm with you Magic. This thing is huge and BP & the Obama administration seem to be asleep at the switch. I hope I'm wrong and it turns out to have less impact than I think... but I don't think so.

I'm concerned about the impact too, but what do you think the administration should be doing?

I think the Obama administration should set aside all politics and blame for the time being, then "manage" the situation. Bring every resource that is needed to stop the oil flow and clean up the mess.

There will be plenty of time to go after BP, change regulations, set new standards, raise taxes, move the economy away from an oil base - but first the focus has to be on solving the problem.

Obama needs to lead. Leaders solve problems.

I'm dying for Obama to handle this right, but I see his administration posturing and trying to gain political advantage rather than just solving the problem.

When a heart surgeon is in the middle of saving a life that is not the time to preach to the patient about cholesterol or taxing fast food restaurants. Save the patient, then work the agenda!

[Curtis Metcalf]

Your heart surgeon analogy is apt in that the government doesn't know how to do the surgery, i.e. stop an underwater oil leak. And you don't want to interrupt the surgeon during the operation but you may want to have a word with the hospital administration.

As for stopping the leak and cleaning up, are there resources being withheld?
How do we know?

[DRobinson]

As for stopping the leak and cleaning up, are there resources being withheld?
How do we know?

I'm not sure. I have read that the US & BP have not accepted offers of help from foreign governments and that tankers with out US registration/flags are not being allowed into the gulf to collect oil. We know that the head of BP & Obama didn't even talk for the first 40 days or so - that's crazy!

That said, after a four hour plus meeting today, it sounds like the government is finally getting the idea that they need to take charge - honestly, better late than never. But again, taking charge (at least to me) means solving the problem. The blame & politicising can come later. The President will have a lot more credibility, on this issue, after he has taken charge, stopped the leak, and cleaned up the mess.

Then, he can use that credibility to push forward the bigger picture agenda.

[Reginald Hudlin]

I have not been following this story as closely as I should have, but is there some obvious fix that no one is doing that they should?  Do people consider the possibity that there is no fix, at least, one that currently exists?

I keep hearing that the President needs to "take charge", but is there a clear plan of action?

[DRobinson]

I have not been following this story as closely as I should have, but is there some obvious fix that no one is doing that they should?  Do people consider the possibity that there is no fix, at least, one that currently exists?

I keep hearing that the President needs to "take charge", but is there a clear plan of action?

I don’t know of an obvious fix, but I have read about mitigating measures that were ignored or turned down for what sound like political reasons.

For example, I’ve read that the oil on the surface could have been burned instead of allowing it to be diluted with sea water and reach shore. Was burning turned down for fear of backlash from the same environmental lobbies that have oil companies drilling in deep water instead of shallow water?

When folks call for Obama to “take charge” I think they were largely calling for him to engage. Even without an obvious clear fix, having the President engaged, sends a message that this is a serious problem worthy of his attention.

The Fox news followers are going to have a field day with President Obama’s initial lack of attention to this catastrophe. Even if he gets it right now, this event will be a serious Achilles’ heal for the President during the upcoming midterm elections and the President’s re-election bid for a second term.

His best bet now, is to stay engaged and lead us out of this disaster. The day after that, he should fire the advisors that enabled him when he wasn’t paying attention.

Obama is definitely damaged from this, but he can recover if he plays it smart from here.

[Hypestyle]

...but is congress going to act, or 'obstruct'? http://tinyurl.com/3xwaexp

[moor]

I have not been following this story as closely as I should have, but is there some obvious fix that no one is doing that they should?  Do people consider the possibity that there is no fix, at least, one that currently exists?

I keep hearing that the President needs to "take charge", but is there a clear plan of action?

I don’t know of an obvious fix, but I have read about mitigating measures that were ignored or turned down for what sound like political reasons.

For example, I’ve read that the oil on the surface could have been burned instead of allowing it to be diluted with sea water and reach shore. Was burning turned down for fear of backlash from the same environmental lobbies that have oil companies drilling in deep water instead of shallow water?

When folks call for Obama to “take charge” I think they were largely calling for him to engage. Even without an obvious clear fix, having the President engaged, sends a message that this is a serious problem worthy of his attention.

The Fox news followers are going to have a field day with President Obama’s initial lack of attention to this catastrophe. Even if he gets it right now, this event will be a serious Achilles’ heal for the President during the upcoming midterm elections and the President’s re-election bid for a second term.

His best bet now, is to stay engaged and lead us out of this disaster. The day after that, he should fire the advisors that enabled him when he wasn’t paying attention.

Obama is definitely damaged from this, but he can recover if he plays it smart from here.

Burning off the surface oil simply trades one form of pollution for another and was viewed my most experts as not viable.
Drilling a relief well will take at least 6 weeks.
Sending robots down to inject materials to slow/seal the fissure will take at least 6 weeks, and is not guaranteed.

Until someone with a vivid imagination can come up with a plan D - that's all they've got.

I'm not sure how looking busy here helps, as a practical matter.  I don't believe anyone gets an A for effort in a situation like this.