Reforms Slow to Arrive at Drilling Agency

WASHINGTON — As President Obama and his top aides were convening a series of meetings that led to the announcement in March of a major expansion of offshore oil drilling, the troubled history of the agency that regulates such drilling operations was well known.

Mr. Obama, shortly after taking office, had assigned Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to clean up the agency, the Minerals Management Service. The office’s history of corruption and coziness with the industry it was supposed to regulate had been the subject of years of scathing reports by government auditors, lurid headlines and a score of Congressional hearings.

To stem the Gulf oil gusher and clean up the mess, Obama has been mustering all the incompetence his entire administration could manage under the circumstances. His biggest achievement thus far is watching this drag out for over a month before realizing Bush isn't getting blamed.

Beginning with his news conference last week, Obama has wanted everybody to realize all the hard work he's put into his failed response to the leak, and that not a day goes by on the golf course that he doesn't think about the Gulf Coast. Obama -- ready from Day 38!

Eager to let Americans know he's on top of the situation, Obama put energy czar Carol Browner on TV Sunday to reassure Americans that this is "the biggest environmental disaster" in American history. Obama makes history again! I'm swelling with pride now.

After eventually being briefed that BP's "Top Kill" effort had failed, Obama released a statement from his vacation spot in Chicago saying that he was 'enraged' and brokenhearted. The "Top Kill" procedure consisted of pumping heavy drilling mud into the damaged well, followed by a "junk shot" of golf balls, rope, tires and Obama's campaign promises.

In his statement, Obama added boldly that "we will not relent until this leak is contained," and the tar balls are defeated. We shall fight them on the beaches, we shall fight them on the marshes with photo-ops and environmental impact assessments! Better to fight them in our wetlands than out in the sandy barrier islands.

A day after issuing his statement, as if to emphasize he's not taking matters lying down, Obama was off to the gym for another workout.

Obama's incompetence has become so obvious that even Colin Powell has noticed it, forgetting that he endorsed him. Going out on a limb, Powell said Sunday that Obama was slow to respond. Obama insists that, from the very beginning, he's been "in charge" of this disaster -- referring to the oil leak, not his presidency. Appearing on ABC's The Week, Powell, who was slow to respond to Obama's slow response, suggested ways Obama could appear less inept, such as giving "the comprehensive speech he gave the other day" a few weeks earlier than he did. This is timely advice.

Even Adm. Thad Allen, who's overseeing the government's non-response, responded to Ken ("boot on their neck") Salazar's remark that BP should be pushed "out of the way" with: "To replace them with what?" Obama? Janet Napolitano? Oil rig expert Rahm Emanuel? Kenito Mussolini Salazar? It requires some degree of managerial competence but these chaps don't do competence -- just symbolism, such as Obama showcasing Janet Napolitano as proof he's been handling the oil leak manfully.

The ever-shrinking ranks of Obama defenders still insist that this is not Obama's Katrina. Obama can't even handle an oil leak, much less show the crisis management smarts to deal with the wrath and aftermath of the levee-breaching wind and wave mega-monster with the 27-foot storm surge. Five weeks into this, Obama's just figuring out no "bi-partisan commission" or speech or press release can plug a hole at the bottom of the Gulf or clean up the mess. His peculiar fetish for dialogue isn't a good bet either since that broken riser pipe may be open but not to dialogue. Bring back Bush and Cheney.

Anyway, that's...
My Two Cents...
"JohnHuang2"

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