Obama's Blowout Preventer

Wall Street Journal ^ | 05/28/10

[MissesBush]

BP and the Coast Guard yesterday were cautiously optimistic that the "top kill" maneuver could stanch the Gulf of Mexico oil leak, and let us hope this is the beginning of the end of the disaster. In Washington, meanwhile, the White House's panicked efforts to put a tourniquet on the political consequences were notably less successful.

"I take responsibility," President Obama said at his press conference yesterday—though responsibility for what? As he explained it, the Deepwater Horizon disaster was predominantly a failure of government, namely, the "scandalously close relationship between oil companies and the agency that regulates them." Mr. Obama is referring to the Minerals Management Service, or MMS, and he claims the Administration had a plan to end this putative regulatory capture.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar "was in the process of making these reforms," Mr. Obama continued. "But the point that I'm making is, is that, obviously, they weren't happening fast enough. If they had been happening fast enough, this might have been caught." In other words, this is really the fault of the Bush Administration, like everything else.

It would certainly be interesting to hear more details about this no doubt ambitious and unprecedented reform that no one knew anything about until this oil disaster. Mr. Obama made no mention of it when he announced in late March that new offshore areas would be opened to oil and gas development.

"This is not a decision that I've made lightly," the President said at the time. "It's one that Ken and I—as well as Carol Browner, my energy adviser, and others in my Administration—looked at closely for more than a year."

[MissesBush]

This administration is in full CYA mode, on the oil spill and on the Sestak scandal, now inventing a b.s. claim on the latter that it was Bill Clinton who offered an unpaid job to Sestak to not run for Senate. LMAO, yeah, because who wouldn't quit the position of Congressman to work for free??? This is right up there with the idea that somehow more bureacracy and regulation could stop an accident 5000 feet below the ocean.

[Ann Archy]

Is Sestak doing ANY talking to ANYONE???

[ClearCase_guy]

"I take responsibility," President Obama said

What he wants this to mean: "This is not my fault. It's not my administration's fault. We need to move on."

The problem occurred after a federal inspection, the initial mess was not handled well, the cleanup isn't going well, and the flow hasn't been stopped. He took responsibility. This is all on Obama. He said so.

[MissesBush]

I’m sure they’ve got their “boot on the neck” of Sestak to keep him quiet. Sestak isn’t going to roll over on the Obama cabal. The DNSCC would starve him of money if he did.

[Vaduz]

“I take responsibility,”Becaus the media will cover my a$$ they always have.

[Army Air Corps]

Also, never mind the fact that even the offer of an unpaid position is still illegal.

[Ann Archy]

Yes, they have theit BOOT on Sestak’s neck!!!

[fortunecookie]

Personal responsibility? Make that his sole responsibility to make more laws. In that regard it sounds like he is taking responsibility. Responsibility of taking more government control and creating more laws to manage behavior.

[RetSignman]

Don't worry the president is on the job with a mallet and big plug.

[Recovering_Democrat]