Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Obama and the Oil Spill - A Dearth of Executive Leadership

GRAND ISLE, LA - JUNE 15: People in the oil stricken community of Grand Isle watch from a bar as U.S. President Barack Obama discusses the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in a an Oval Office speech, the first Oval Office speech of his presidency June 15, 2010 in Grand Isle, Louisiana. Obama told the nation that the spill is a wake-up call and the country should change the way energy is produced and used. The BP spill has been called the largest environmental disaster in American history. U.S. government scientists have estimated that the flow rate of oil gushing out of a ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well may be as high 40,000 barrels per day. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
I was aghast at the Obama speech last night about the horrific oil spill in the gulf. Obama had two, and only two, objectives last night. 1) Lay out what is happing to cap the spill, and commit to do everything in his power to ensure that it happens as quickly as possible. 2) Lay out what is happening to prevent the oil from arriving ashore, and when it does, what is happening to clean it up. Commit to do everything in his power to ensure that these activities are done as quickly and effectively as possible.

Instead, in true Rahm Emanuel "never let a crisis go to waste" fashion, we got another, ANOTHER campaign speech on our need for Cap and Trade. Mr. President, wildlife is dying, people are hurting, and ways of life and micro economies that have stood for decades are threatened. Pushing your political agenda in this environment is not only inappropriate, it is revolting.

The entire time of the speech, my thoughts constantly went to how this President would handle an even bigger crisis, and it scares the living hell out of me. When you have the sycophants over at MS-NBC questioning your leadership, it might be time to exit campaign mode for a minute and actually do something to help.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please feel free to include any thoughts you may have. Know, however, that kiddos might be reading this, so please keep the adult language to yourself. I know, for me to ask that language is clean is a stretch...

yeldogpat-20