At no time during President Obama’s term has he had it easy. Some say that the media has been easy on him, but this assertion can be proven false.
The oil leak has been a problem Obama would love to have never heard of or run into. It will damage his legacy to some degree. During this time the media has not given him a break.
First, there were accusations the president was not showing enough emotion, he wasn’t mad enough. If that wasn’t absurd enough, he was also criticized for not having a solution to cap the well.
Obama does not work for Transocean or BP.
He does, however, work for the American people, and he is therefore required to serve us.
This means explaining to the American people why there hasn’t been a solution so far, why it happened in the first place, and exactly how things will be fixed to the best that his administration can.
During Obama’s address to the nation on June 15, 2010 about the oil leak in the gulf, Obama explained his actions so far on the oil spill. The president talked about how he immediately organized a group of scientists and oil industry engineers including Nobel Prize-winning scientist Steven Chu, the leader of the group.
The president also talked about how he was going to deal with the Minerals Management Service, an agency that has deteriorated to the point of inability to do anything resembling regulating.
The president showed action by having his Secretary of the interior Ken Salazar terminate the Mineral Management service, and then creating an agency known as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, which will be head by former Department of Justice Inspector general, and former U.S. attorney of New York Michael Bromiwch.
President Obama is showing what past presidents have not, knowledge of the situation, ideas on how to contain such events and a plan for keeping them from happening in the future.
Obama seems to have a secure grip on what to do to the best of his abilities, and he also knows the importance of holding those responsible for however long necessary.
The oil Leak may have refocused our attention but he also has impending problems elsewhere.
Those who think the media is light on Obama or that they are doing him favors should simply watch the news. Criticisms and challenges to his healthcare reform are coming from all over.
Today President Barack Obama summoned General Stanley McChrsytal to Washington to explain the comments that he made to the Rolling Stone magazine which appear in the currently published issue.
Whether President Obama decides to fire the general or not the obstacles he continues to face are relentlessly multiplying. The way he handles these will say everything about his administration.
It is unfair to say America has lost its greatness; our greatness is still yet to come.
Andrew Taylor is a senior economics major and can be reached at [email protected]
While it’s true that Obama is demonstrating “knowledge” of the situation (oil spill), how does that help solve the problem? It’s obvious BP is not going to do anything short term, so Obama should step in. The magnitude of this problem is nothing short of global, and he should consider all options, like explosives. Are you trying to tell me that if this happens again, we have NO solution, short of drilling a relief well, 90 days down the line? Unacceptable. And your defense of Obama’s “studying the problem” is unacceptable. Hey, great web site, by the way (I’m a WP user).
America is an empire, arguably the only super power in the world. What more greatness do you want?
Obama had every opportunity to POSSIBLY avert the disaster when he arrived in office riding the platform of “Yes We Can” change… Under his administration, that platform has changed to “Oh NO You Didn’t!!!” – particularly in the case of how the Democrats rammed healthcare thorugh that people didn’t necessairly want, and in consideration to the BP spill; if anyone had an opportunity to “change” MMS and avert the disaster, and many other potential ones to come, it was him (and his administration). MMS is operated by the US Department of the Interior – a direct report to the EXECUTIVE BRANCH (i.e. The President). Democrats were so quick to point out how the Bush administration was in bed with big business, and in particular Big Oil. When they took office, they choose to go after healthcare instead of fixing on of the biggest problems the liberal media used to slam the Bush Administration (Haliburton & Dick Cheney). So in hindsight, does Obama have any culpability?
In short – NO; the US Government is not responsible for fixing the leak. But what I want to know is, why the Obama Administration chose to pursue an agenda (healthcare) when as a whole, the Democrats have been accusing Republican’s of being way too cozy with Big Oil. Had he made that type of “change” an issue at MMS from the beginning – 11 people might be alive today and oil wouldn’t be washing up along 2000 miles of the gulf coast.
At a minimum, you have to expect a President, any President to be able to pick thier battles, and when it comes to Obama, he is blantantly picking the battles that he hopes might win him re-relection instead of seriously considering the true implications of his own “Yes We Can (change)” platform, and taking that, and his presidency to the next level and truly doing what is good for the people.
Of course as we sit here and talk about who was wronged in the media and how – they (both Rep’s and Dem’s) keep getting richer and sucking off the American people. America’s greatness is not hitched to Obama or any other President; it is America’s people that make this country great!