Carville, Matthews rip W.H. BP response

At first, it was Rush Limbaugh who tagged the gusher in the Gulf "Obama's Katrina" -- but now two lions of the left are warning the White House that the administration's handing of the environmental catastrophe is inflicting long-term political damage.

James Carville, a stalwart Obama defender -- and Louisiana native -- and MSNBC's Chris Mathews both voiced concerns about the president's handling of the spill, and Obama's decision to allow BP to take the lead on plugging the pipe, which has been pouring oil into the sea for a month.

Their statements came on a day when the press corps spent the better part of an hour grilling White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs about the administration's response to the Deepwater Horizons disaster -- and the cloud of confusion over the amount of oil spilling from the severed exploration pipe and BP's efforts to staunch the flow.

"Obama was top recipient of BP-related dollars in 2008
Washington (CNN) -- As petroleum giant BP comes under congressional scrutiny
as its ruptured oil rig pumps thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico,
its political contributions are being scrutinized, too.
The top recipient of BP-related donations during the 2008 presidential election was Barack Obama,
who collected $71,000, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics."

"Obama biggest recipient of BP cash
BP and its employees have given more than $3.5 million
to federal candidates over the past 20 years,
with the largest chunk of their money going to Obama
"

"U.S. exempted BP's Gulf of Mexico drilling from environmental impact study
The Interior Department exempted BP's calamitous Gulf of Mexico
drilling operation from a detailed environmental impact analysis last year.."

"Obama admin exempted BP’s Gulf drilling from environmental impact study
Obama was the top recipient of donations from BP in 2008,
... He let BP’s gulf drilling be exempt from an environmental study last year.
The decision by the department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) to give BP’s lease at Deepwater Horizon a “categorical exclusion”
from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on April 6, 2009 —
and BP’s lobbying efforts just 11 days before the explosion"

"The Cover-up: BP's Crude Politics and the Looming Environmental Mega-Disaster
WMR has been informed by sources in the US Army Corps of Engineers,
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Florida Department of Environmental Protection
that the Obama White House and British Petroleum (BP), which pumped $71,000 into Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign
more than John McCain or Hillary Clinton,
are covering up the magnitude of the volcanic-level oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico
and working together to limit BP's liability for damage caused by what can be called a "mega-disaster."

"Obama sheltered BP's Deepwater Horizon rig from regulatory requirement
Last year the Obama administration granted oil giant BP a special exemption
from a legal requirement that it produce a detailed environmental impact study
on the possible effects of its Deepwater Horizon drilling operation in the Gulf of Mexico,
Federal documents show that the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) gave BP a "categorical exclusion" on April 6, 2009 "

"Red Flags Were Ignored Aboard Doomed Rig
Managers at oil giant BP PLC decided to forge ahead in finishing work
on the doomed Deepwater Horizon rig
despite some tests suggesting that highly combustible gas had seeped into the well"

"US allowed drilling 'without required permits'
Oil spill scandal: an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico,
with a complaint claims the Department of Interior has approved
over 300 drilling operations,
three large lease sales and over 100 seismic surveys
without the required permits
The approvals by the Minerals Management Service (MMS) included greenlighting
the well drilled by the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded on April 20"

"U.S. Said to Allow Drilling Without Needed Permits
The federal Minerals Management Service gave permission to BP and dozens of other oil companies
to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first getting required permits "

I suspect it isn’t that he needs the money. Carville is a Looseyanna native, went to school there, worked there, and is teaching at Tulane there...

It’s a shot across the bow - Democratic primary wars are on ! The perfect Clintonista to go after Obama !

I find it interesting that Christingles is sounding rational.

Trashed Blumenthal big time and bashed anyone who would help get him elected. Where did that come from???

And then to agree that this administration bares some blame for the lack of response to the oil spill.

We are in strange times.

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