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Fighting “powerlessness” and why Obama won’t have a good day on the spill until it’s stopped… How last night’s speech might have played better in the Gulf than it did in D.C. or New York… Did Obama meet the expectations that we (and others) laid out for him?... The president sits down with BP executives at 10:15 am, and they’re still negotiating on the size and scope of the escrow account… Last night’s speech suggests that Obama won’t go for the whole energy/climate change enchilada (which isn’t surprising given the Senate math)… Republicans might have a big problem in Florida, and Angle, Paul, and Kirk haven’t given them good news, either. And Dems have their own issues with Sestak in Pennsylvania and Fisher in Ohio.
*** Fighting 'powerlessness': Here's what may now be an undisputed fact: President Obama isn't going to be perceived as having a "good day" handling this oil spill until the oil stops spewing out of the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. As for the pundit hand-wringing over last night’s speech, the New York Times’ Peter Baker probably put it best: Obama has been “fighting his own powerlessness." Everyone is frustrated, everyone is upset. And right now everyone in the Conventional Wisdom world/chattering class, etc. is taking it out on this president, good speech or not. What’s particularly telling is that the pundit class pretty much demanded that the president give last night’s speech (the White House caved to that pressure, perhaps before they had something more to announce), and some of them immediately criticized it. Talk about a no-win situation.
*** Did it play better in the Gulf than it did in D.C.? While the speech might not have played well in D.C. or in New York, we have a feeling that it fared better in Gulf Coast states. Why? You could tell that the president has spent a lot of the time in the Gulf these past few weeks, and that he’s chatted with numerous Gulf residents. In fact, he seemed to channel them in the conclusion of his speech. “This nation has known hard times before and we will surely know them again,” he said. “What sees us through -- what has always seen us through -- is our strength, our resilience, and our unyielding faith that something better awaits us if we summon the courage to reach for it. Tonight, we pray for that courage. We pray for the people of the Gulf. And we pray that a hand may guide us through the storm towards a brighter day.”
*** Just a little patience: Some folks in the 46 states not touched by this spill may have been wondering, "Huh, why doesn't he have a better plan for plugging the hole." But the people in the four states directly affected by the spill right now, while frustrated, have continually shown more patience for the president on this issue than the rest of the country. You can't find a lot of folks down there who want to beat up the president; they are anxious and frustrated but not angry at HIM. Of course, that could always change if they ever perceive he didn't do something he could have done. By the way, the speech was so Gulf-centric, we have to ask, would the speech have been received better had he given it while in the region. Even if it was contemplated, we're sure it was quickly rejected because of the way Bush's Jackson Square speech was panned, but there's a difference between a bad idea and a good idea with bad execution.
*** Meeting expectations? Also, if Obama’s objectives were to demonstrate to the public that his administration is doing everything possible to mitigate the spill’s impact, to reimburse Gulf residents, and to hold BP’s feet to the fire -- as we said they were in yesterday’s First Read -- it’s hard to say that Obama didn’t meet expectations. "We will fight this spill with everything we’ve got for as long it takes," he said last night. "Tomorrow,” he added, “I will meet with the chairman of BP and inform him that he is to set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners who have been harmed as a result of his company’s recklessness." And he even drew on the JFK man-to-the-moon rhetoric some were hoping for. "Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash American innovation and seize control of our own destiny."
*** Still negotiating with BP: Of course, some were wondering why he didn’t give more details. And one area where Obama received particular criticism was not being specific enough about the BP escrow account to reimburse Gulf residents and pay for Gulf reconstruction. What we can report is that had the administration and BP come to an agreement on the specifics, they would have been announced last night. This is still being negotiated, and those negotiations will continue when Obama meets at the White House with BP executives at 10:15 am ET. Once the specifics are agreed to, the White House will announce how the fund will work, as well as the initial sum of money that BP is footing. An expected 12:15 pm Rose Garden statement by the president will be the announcement of the structure of this fund. But don't be surprised if things slip because unlike most White House meetings, there is actual suspense as to what BP and the White House can agree on.
*** Scaling back on energy: The other criticism that Obama has received, especially from the left, is that he didn’t make a bigger political pitch for cap-and-trade. The thinking is that he scaled back what he wants. “So I am happy to look at other ideas and approaches from either party -- as long they seriously tackle our addiction to fossil fuels,” he said. Realistically, however, the votes aren’t there in the Senate to pass a full cap-and-trade bill (and they probably weren’t there a year ago, either). Remember when some of Obama’s advisers like Rahm wanted Obama to push for a scaled-back health bill? Well, he didn’t agree with that. But what seems likely on energy, though, is that energy/climate change will be the thing that gets scaled back. Scott Brown’s election didn’t kill health-care reform. But what it did do -- by extending the health debate for another two months, with members having to take more tough votes -- was kill a big comprehensive energy/climate change bill. For those familiar with how this speech was put together, it's clear the political folks got a hold of this energy language, as one enviro activist who is close to the White House put it.
*** What is going on in Florida? All of a sudden, Florida is beginning to turn into a problem for Republicans. In the GOP gubernatorial primary, establishment favorite Bill McCollum is in trouble against wealthy Rick Scott, creating a path to victory for Democrat Alex Sink, despite the fact that her own campaign hasn’t caught fire. And now wealthy Jeff Greene giving Kendrick Meek a run in the Democratic Senate primary, which could benefit Charlie Crist in the state’s three-way Senate contest. Why? Here’s the answer from Politico’s Martin: “The emergence of a politically unknown billionaire self-funder in the Florida Senate race is prompting top Democrats in the state to say publicly what some have been whispering for weeks: If Jeff Greene, who got rich betting on the collapse of the housing market, becomes their nominee, many in the party will have the cover they need to get behind Republican-turned-independent Gov. Charlie Crist.” Talk about everything breaking Crist’s way (outside of the Jim Greer news). Meek had a real opportunity here, but so far hasn’t seized it. And Marco Rubio’s campaign -- which worked to push Crist out of the GOP race -- doesn’t appear to have anticipated the possibility that Crist might end up as the de facto Dem nominee. Indeed, Rubio's campaign has been pretty flat-footed since the Crist party switch. As one GOP operative put it to us: Rubio’s the dog that caught the car; he now doesn't know what to do next.
*** And what’s going on in Nevada, Kentucky, and Illinois? These haven’t been the best couple of weeks for GOP Senate candidates in high-profile races outside of Florida. In Nevada, as Politico’s Ben Smith has pointed out, Sharron Angle’s national rollout is looking somewhat similar to Sarah Palin’s in the fall of 2008 (it turns out she was once a member of the American Independent Party, she once suggested armed insurrection against the government, and she’s only doing interviews with conservative outlets). In Kentucky, Rand Paul has had to deal with another media hit (the fact that he isn’t certified by the eye-doctor profession’s leading group). And in Illinois, Mark Kirk has seen his military service -- which should be a positive -- become a negative (the Pentagon said it cautioned Kirk about mixing politics with his military service). If Republicans have a HUGE night in November but fail to come close in picking up the Senate, this paragraph should be clipped-and-saved and reviewed as the reason.
*** Dem concerns in Pennsylvania and Ohio: As the Obama administration knows well, there are always ups and downs in politics. And, for Senate Republicans, these are still heady days, especially considering the NRSC’s map in June ’09 vs. June ’10. But make no mistake: The GOP’s ability or inability to win these three contests -- or also the ones in CO, MO, OH, or PA -- will be the difference between a good Election Night and an OK one. Yet Republicans aren’t the only ones who are struggling with outsider candidates right now. In Pennsylvania, there is concern about Joe Sestak’s campaign structure. And in Ohio, Dems are worried about Lee Fisher’s poor fundraising numbers. As we wrote a few weeks ago, the outsiders -- Angle, Paul, Sestak -- have their pluses and minuses. It's amazing how many poorly run campaigns there are in major races that both parties are having to deal with.
Countdown to UT primary and NC and SC run-offs: 6 days
Countdown to AL run-off: 27 days
Countdown to GA primary: 34 days
Countdown to OK primary: 41 days
Countdown to KS and MO primaries: 48 days
Countdown to CO and CT primaries: 55 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 139 days
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A Mediocre Speech:
I heard the President’s speech. It was short and I would like to have heard more. But what I did hear is that our President will make British Petroleum pay…whatever it costs. Matthews, Olbermann, Fineman were acting-out and wanted more details, but the meeting with the BP chairman is today, so MSNBC talking heads, take a pill and wait on the details for goodness sake. It is becoming clearer why our President does not watch cable news.
Expectations on this President are unreal. He is not a Bill Clinton “I feel your pain” kind of President. Likewise, he is not a fly over New Orleans type of President either. He is logical, and pragmatic. He does recognize that BP has destroyed the way of life for coastal residents and it will take a lot of BP money to make things right.
Additionally, he took the high road and did not attack the Senate for being dysfunctional and cowardly when it comes to making hard decisions regarding clean energy. My own aggressive nature would have been to beat the Senate with an ugly stick.
Most all Americans, including MSNBC pundits, are into instant gratification, quick fixes, and solve it now mentality. Unfortunately this oil spill is sickening to our environment, sickening to the people trying to clean it up, and sickening to the rest of us who are watching animals die a needless death. And we knew there are no quick and easy solutions.
Anyone who believes our President isn’t doing everything he can is either seeking political gain or simply don’t get it.
Good points Ron. One thing I don't understand, most of the governors howling and screaming are republicans who for years have backed the oil industry unconditionally. These states are oil states, I've been on several cruises out of New Orleans, when you leave that port you travel for some distance until you actually reach the gulf - all along the Mississippi you see nothing but oil refineries and wells. So, until they stop being greedy and stop recruiting that type of business they have nothing to complain about - this was inevetable, you can't continue on the path we are on without something this bad happening - but do we see an increase interest in clean renewable energy and appliances and automobiles that use them? Not nearly enough, not nearly enough.
Union Baby, Tennessee: I totally agree. points well made.
Ron,
Good points. I also listened to his speech and was a little surprised at how short it was. I also was expecting a little more, probally because of all media hype on what he should say as opposed to what our President feels HE should say.
The Pundits were hard on him yesterday and even more so today. I do not understand what they expect our President to do.
As you mentioned, we will learn more today (about 1:00PM - EST) as to what the deal with BP will be or not. So everbody shut up until the results are in. The man cannot make comments on a policy that has not been developed yet. If he does he gets hammered again, if he dosen't he gts hammered. BP has the obligation to pay for this mess, lets see what the deal is going to be and then we can discuss it.
Union Baby, that brings up a couple of points I've been thinking about but no one seems to be talking about. Is the bill to ban class action suits and pro bono representation against oil and chemical companies still alive in the LA legislature? This Republican-backed measure would take away the last tools that those who lack power have against the potential for a catastrophe like this one, or another Bhopal, India disaster. It's particularly directed against the legal clinic at Tulane University, which has frequently taken on powerful interests in LA on behalf of those who can least afford to do so yet are most victimized.
I'm also tired of all the whining about "this beach isn't covered in oil, you're scaring away all the tourists." If I were planning to travel on vacation this Summer the LAST place I would consider going is the northern Gulf coast. It isn't because I think the entire coast is ankle deep in crude, I know better. I also know that any destination I choose COULD be ankle deep in crude by the day of my arrival. That's enough to keep me away. The tourism disaster isn't the President's fault and it isn't the media's fault, no matter how hard people work to make it so. It's the reality of 10 Exxon Valdez' worth of oil (so far) floating around, waiting to make landfall somewhere.
Good post Ron, as always.
Until the spill is stopped, cleaning up in earnest will not be possible. The people in the Gulf who's lives are deeply affected need to be realistic. The people will be compensated, their way of life not so much. There is only so much the President ,any President ,can do. I believe our President will see that much is done to help people down there. The damage to the water, marshes and life style will be another challenge, perhaps too catastrophic ever to be made whole again. That is the most tragic aspect of the accident and I believe the President knows that.
We need as a nation to accept the fact our lives are too dependent on fossil fuels, there needs to be a coming together to help ourselves and the country. We act like petulent children when we may have to make a change or give up something. As long as we expect a President alone to solve the problems and just sit on the sidelines yelling you are not doing enough, you are not one of us, you are this or that, its all your fault etc., etc., we will continue to wallow in self pity and sink further into doing nothing.
So take a look in the mirror, are you part of the problem? Do you drive too much? Do you like your homes toasty warm in winter, super cool in summer? Whose your daddy? The federal government ,whom many feel is too big, now, many want it to spend, spend, spend on recovery necessities and for the President to hold their hands. Please this is not an act of God, this was an accident, with catastrophic consequenses, there is enough blame to go around, let's agree on the and get the damn thing closed and go forward.
Once again, Ron - very well put and well thought out comments.
You and Fareed Zacharia are my new heroes!
Well said, Gingerbread!
Gingerbread Mama: You are spot on: It's good to see your comments.
I really can't understand the negative comments coming from the MSNBC group of pundits last night. Did they expect that he would announce - it's capped! What was there to announce? Nothing because we have nothing.
What the President did do was give us the "big picture" going forward. I think that's all we've got right now. Pundits are just talking heads.
Well said, Ron, especially the instant gratification. The pundits selfishly expressed "my wants" without much reality to them.
The message was not intended to be partisan in nature. As I said in an earlier thread, I thought it was a good message but merely a prelude or opening statement. I think we will see more detailed speeches in the days and weeks to come.
Thanks Jody: I responded to your comments on page 2. I'm wondering, What is going on at MSNBC. Actually, this morning CBS had a very impartial piece on the President's speech.
Ron, this President doesn' have a clue what to do! No, it's not his fault that the spill happened or that he can go down and do anything directly about it. However, when he refuses to repeal the Jones Act and let other countries who have better technology come in and help; when he appoints more lawyers with no experience in the area; when he 'refuses' to let the states do what they need to do to fight the spill. I happen to believe that this President knows exactly what's he doing; don't focus on the current spill and do whatever to fix it; but just let it continue to go on; then make a speech to push his 'green agenda'. This is the most 'inept President' in history!
Union Baby.
Dumb comment. You're trying to tell a huge community that has oil wells on their land that because they didn't go out and fill all of those wells with concrete yesterday or last year that they should shut up? How utterly self-righteous and unrealistic. It's almost like you're implying that they deserve it because they have an oil well in their yard and they do NOT.
I'll remember this line of dumb logic next time you guys suffer a nasty flood and are looking for gov't money to bail your asses out. If you knew you lived in a flood zone you should never have lived there, right? Good thing I don't really think that kind of baloney.
Come on, man. These people have relied on the thing that no one gave a damn about for years and years until now that we (southerners) have a oil disaster in our waters. An oil disaster that never should have happened if the most basic drilling protocol and safety procedures had been followed by British Petroleum.
So, you see, it's not the people of LA and MS who have oil wells in their pastures that are to blame for this. It's not even the states who allow drilling in their waters who are to blame and it's extremely unrealistic to try to make some kind case that MS or LA should have some how championed the cause of paradigm shift to renewables when no one gave a rat's azz about it up until a few years ago.
The transition to renewables, and I'm all for it, will take a long long time. Until then you can't expect these people to just stop pumping oil. What can be expected is for the oil industry to take responsibility for this disaster because they caused it. MMS bares some blame for this too. What can be expected is for the oil industry to put some serious investment into new clean up technology. And finally, what should happen is a major, no holds barred push towards new renewable technology that is practical and affordable.
Holy cow! Can you blame them? They aren't even connected to the oil industry. They are losing their asses. They can't pay for the necessities of their children. Relax, John, in your state that isn't dealing with the effects of the biggest disaster in US history.
Eat your cookies in the comfort of your climate controlled home and, while you watch Maddow film dead pelicans on the beaches of the southern states, you can shout at the redneck tourist trap owners on the screen who are loosing everything they've ever known because of a series of stupid decisions made by greedy men. Who the f'k are you to judge?! I'm watching this crap unfold in front of my eyes down here.
The good news for you is that, as the oil covers more and more beaches you wont have to tolerate the annoying sounds of complaint by the tourist related business owners.
It is absolutely astounding that we as Democrats have become so Republican-like, that we need a "Daddy" (GW-TYPE) for our own emotional rescue. We had a "Daddy" in GW Bush, and what did that get us? I did not vote for President Obama because I wanted a "Daddy" in the WH. I voted for someone I believed was intelligent , thoughtful, steady, resourceful, dedicated to solving the critical issues facing this country and around the world. Moreover, I wanted someone I felt was smarter than me or any that I know. This country has become so "Needy" emotionally, that it has ascribed mythical cartoon hero characteristics to the real life traits we should have in a President. This attitude is mass delusion. President Obama is doing exactly what he should be doing in every aspect of his job. He has the best minds in America and around the world working on the Gulf Oil Disaster. Moreover, too hear the "Liberal" pundits last night after the President's address, was just pathetic. I was very disappointed in the comments of Keith Obermann, Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, and the rest of the CARPING "CRY BABIES". It appears, every pundit, whether they are liberal or conservative, are out to prove to someone they are smarter than the President. None of these people ever have any viable solutions only the advantage of the pubic airwaves to rant their drivel. Know one has elected them to anything. If the pundits are so smart, then run for office, or just shut the f*** up.
The reality of it all is this, the Government which includes the Military are not in the business of drilling for Oil (full stop). Therefore, the Government does not have drilling equipment nor experts within it that's capable of overriding, technologically, that which private industry has, who are in the business of drilling. Oil Companies are the ones with the preponderance of petroleum engineers with the experience. Now, I would agree, the Government must get up to speed on increased regulations and cleaning up the corruption in the applicable regulatory agencies. This starts with getting rid of all of the appointees and those hired during the Bush administration that remain in the Mineral Management Agency and at EPA. Moreover, I think this crisis is the tip of the iceberg relative to potentially whats coming later. The Bush Administration was so laxed in regulatory oversight in all areas of government that its a matter of time before the next disaster occurs.
Disasters have already happened with the "big 4", Banking, Insurance, Oil and the Military Industrial Complex (Haliburton, Lockheed, General Electric, Raytheon, McDonald Douglas, etc.). These are the four Industrials that run this country. They have bought and paid for the services of nearly all those in that great "WHOREHOUSE" known as The Congress.
The Obama Administration should get rid of all the appointees, and those hired during the Bush Administration. This should be done at all levels of Government. These people were hired for their political beliefs NOT because of their qualifications and demonstrated competence. Moreover, many of these people are corporate fascist who hate government and cannot be expected to "Do Government" very well.
Let’s see… Are we going to ‘parse’ every word this morning of President Obama’s speech last night… or are we going to focus on the crisis in the Gulf and the problems we face as a country?
You know the ones… the residents of the Gulf who are losing their ‘lively hood’ & the innocent animals that are suffering & dying? Or when & if we will ever fully recover?
Time will tell… But I have my suspicions...
Uh, GF - did you catch that MSNBC gave Lawrence O'Donnel his own show? It will be on after Rachel,...not sure the launch date - But Happy Super Early Birthday, Girlfriend!
Feisty,
People are not going to give our President any credit or support (they also know who they are). Our President got hammered pretty good last night and again this AM. The deal with BP will be worked out today and then we should know where we are going with this (HOPE).
I was very surprised by Keith last night. What was everybody expecting? I think part of the problem is the media sets what we should hear instead of just letting the President say what he needs to say. This guy cannot win no matter what he does. It is never enough, too much, too soon, too late. I have yet to hear any meaningful ideas from the repugs to date.
Good Morning Retired,
Excellent analysis! Watched David Vitter this morning whining... and for some reason all I could think of was diapers...lol
Feisty, the media is going to parse every word in the speech and some that weren't even in the speech. That's what they do sit around on their cans and tell the President what he should be doing, what he should be saying and how he should act. The media is the one that forced him into giving this speech when there wasn't anything new to talk about, but somebody has to give the media something to talk about, their too lazy to go out and find stories on their own to talk about. I think we need to look at how are so called journalist are being educated, it's evident their not being educated or trained before their thrown out on the street to start reporting the news. It seems they don't know the first thing about journalism.
It is absolutely astounding that we as Democrats have become so Republican-like, that we need a "Daddy" (GW-TYPE) for our own emotional rescue. We had a "Daddy" in GW Bush, and what did that get us? I did not vote for President Obama because I wanted a "Daddy" in the WH. I voted for someone I believed was intelligent , thoughtful, steady, resourceful, dedicated to solving the critical issues facing this country and around the world. Moreover, I wanted someone I felt was smarter than me or any that I know. This country has become so "Needy" emotionally, that it has ascribed mythical cartoon hero characteristics to the real life traits we should have in a President. This attitude is mass delusion. President Obama is doing exactly what he should be doing in every aspect of his job. He has the best minds in America and around the world working on the Gulf Oil Disaster. Moreover, too hear the "Liberal" pundits last night after the President's address, was just pathetic. I was very disappointed in the comments of Keith Obermann, Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, and the rest of the CARPING "CRY BABIES". It appears, every pundit, whether they are liberal or conservative, are out to prove to someone they are smarter than the President. None of these people ever have any viable solutions only the advantage of the pubic airwaves to rant their drivel. Know one has elected them to anything. If the pundits are so smart, then run for office, or just shut the f*** up.
The reality of it all is this, the Government which includes the Military are not in the business of drilling for Oil (full stop). Therefore, the Government does not have drilling equipment nor experts within it that's capable of overriding, technologically, that which private industry has, who are in the business of drilling. Oil Companies are the ones with the preponderance of petroleum engineers with the experience. Now, I would agree, the Government must get up to speed on increased regulations and cleaning up the corruption in the applicable regulatory agencies. This starts with getting rid of all of the appointees and those hired during the Bush administration that remain in the Mineral Management Agency and at EPA. Moreover, I think this crisis is the tip of the iceberg relative to potentially whats coming later. The Bush Administration was so laxed in regulatory oversight in all areas of government that its a matter of time before the next disaster occurs.
Disasters have already happened with the "big 4", Banking, Insurance, Oil and the Military Industrial Complex (Haliburton, Lockheed, General Electric, Raytheon, McDonald Douglas, etc.). These are the four Industrials that run this country. They have bought and paid for the services of nearly all those in that great "WHOREHOUSE" known as The Congress.
The Obama Administration should get rid of all the appointees, and those hired during the Bush Administration. This should be done at all levels of Government. These people were hired for their political beliefs NOT because of their qualifications and demonstrated competence. Moreover, many of these people are corporate fascist who hate government and cannot be expected to "Do Government" very well.
I am so glad to see you and so many others calling MSNBC out for the disgusting way they have gone on the attack with the Prez. Even Howard Fineman last night whom I believed had a pretty rational take on things presidential lost his mind. I too have sworn off everything on MSNBC except Rachel Maddow's show. SHE's got it together, for sure and actually reports the news! Who'd a thought???
Well I bet there’s one happy camper here this morning among us – Eric.
Hey Eric – before last night’s game, our local station was interviewing Bill Russell out in LA and during the interview they were showing clips from the 1969 Lakers/Celtics Final. It was tremendous as I rarely get to see films of his games and was too young to fully appreciate him when he was playing. He won 11 out of 13 Championships. Amazing.
“Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. ...”
Everybody is stomping their feet because President Obama didn’t give the speech the pundits wanted. It’s a tough road to overhaul the oil industry. No one has ever done it. It’s a tough road to overhaul Wall Street. No one has ever done it. It’s a tough road to overhaul the health care industry. No one has ever done it. It’s a tough road to get enough votes to pass meaningful legislation. No one in the GOP wants to do it.
We are not a country who are in it for the long haul. We just aren’t. Just make us feel good and do what we say. In the meantime, we’re going to continue to be disappointed and yell and scream. Because it’s all we know. That’s our life. On the internets and on cable tv. And in the newspapers.
And then we have the Republicans.
_________
Feisty, I put that post up last night about Lawrence O’Donnell’s new program for your benefit. Do you really think we haven’t forgotten the PR push you’ve been giving MSNBC for quite some time now?
Morning Pat! Great post! Sorry for your loss!
I saw that... thanks and left a little message under it ;0) Something about 'eye candy' lol!
Nice too see someones paying attention around there! Matthews has gone b@t sh!t CRAAZEEE!
Got to say the Keith was disappointing last night - and I don't say that very often! And Fineman looked like someone let the air out of his tires...
Uh,... Make that two happy campers, Pat! Sorry; but I was born and lived in LA for a total of about 9 years of my life and that Basketball team will ALWAYS be #1 in my book. Of course, I harken back to the Threepeat and Magic days as the predominant glory when I followed it much more closely. I've never been a huge fan of Kobe (although baby's got game)!
Keep it real today, Libbies! As I am swampus maximus with this launch!
I did see your "eye candy" comment last night but I had lost my energy once the speech was over and there staring at me on the tv, Matthews & Fineman, which I wasn't expecting. They didn't disappoint. As far as the "eye candy" comment, I hear you. I shudder, shudder, shudder to think how I would behave if I were to meet Keith or Lawrence after a few beers. Sober, I would be fine. Nice to meet you, you do great work, etc., and would be on my way. But 2 or 3 beers in me? - I would have them in a corner, respectfully telling them what they're doing, right or wrong. Because I know everything when I have a few. Who doesn't? Fortunately for them, they needn't ever worry about that. I don't stop off at MSNBC often, nor drink that often. lol
LMAO! Thank you Pat... I haven't laughed that hard in a long time *wipes tears away*!
You just described me to a 'tee' as well - great minds do think alike! :0)
Clara, I didn't know you were a Lakers fan! You must be thrilled this morning! But don't forget - it ain't over 'til it's over. Hey, who said that?
It ain't over til it's over; but they don't call it home field advantage for nothin'!
First Thoughts: Fighting Powerlessness: Opening remarks were measured. insightful and fair.
Well done Mark, Domenico and Ali.
As I said on an earlier thread - In a 15 minute address I did not expect much in a detailed plan but I thought there would have been more “actions taken” announced.
I got what I expected, an update of events, some actions taken and a new push for an energy bill.
The address was for the average American who doesn’t have access to the news during the work day and doesn’t pay 1/10th the attention we, on this site, do. Before I retired my TV was only on from 8pm to about midnight and any time spent on the computer at home was work related. My catch-up time for current events was mostly on Sundays.
Feisty, please start pushing MSNBC to give these three their own show. Pleassssssssssse!!! lol
Out of everything I read on the internets, the articles here on First Read do seem to be the most fair and level headed and without the hatred. Brings a certain "groundness" to what we put up with everywhere else. With a certain amount of humor thrown in as well, which is vital in today's environment, which is evident in their end of the week videos.
Thanks for the kind words! However, I'm not sure we have the time for our own show, hahaha. We enjoy being the guys-behind-the-guys...
I'm on it! I enjoyed listening to Mark & Domenico on 'Daily Rundown' and through out the day on MSNBC... but as I said yesterday I've cut waaaay back on the cable chatter!
Sorry Guys ;0) I will see what I can do about that show thing for ya? lol
First thoughts on the speech and the reaction by the unqualified, inexperienced and useless pundits, take them all and try a new junk shot on the leaking BP riser. How about hooking them up to the skimmers and have them start sucking up BP's oil.
Good idea, better yet, lock the owners of BP in a room, no TV no phone no computer for about 3 or 4 days, then lie to them, tell them an oil well off the coast of Great Britian is gushing oil at the same rate the gulf oil spill is gushing. Then make them tell everyone the game plan before letting them out of the room. Once we know how they would take care of this on their own turf we might be able to force them to do the same for us.
Never forget - BP and Halliburton are responsible for this mess and they need to be the ones to clean it up, every last drop, and they need to stop this gushing, right now! And I'm going out on a limb here and take one from the teabaggers - don't use my tax money to clean this mess up - make BP and Halliburton pay every cent that is needed. One of the few things I agree with Ron Paul on, this is not the time or place to use my tax money, and while we are at it, lets stop giving these companies such big tax breaks - they don't need them and we do need the tax revenue.
Spot on post. Voted.
The morons of the chatterclass of Conventional Wisdom garbage are the ones who are spewing far more toxic garbage into our environment than the Gulf oil spill. I'm getting sick and tired of the media blowhards thinking they know more than President Obama in how to deal with the Gulf oil disaster. All the worthless media is doing is trying to grandstand around touting every nonsensical plan around as if they know how to stop the oil spill right now and President Obama is somehow sandbagging the government's efforts.
Even MSNBC tv has gone off the deepend and is little better than Fox and Freaks. I've had it with SissyChris Matthews and his constant whining about anything Obama does, ship his carcass off to Fox and Freaks where he belongs. I certainly won't waste any time watching SissyChris's worthless fascination of the Disgusting Right tomorrow. As always SissyChris allows his worldview to bend with whichever way he thinks the political winds are blowing, such a wimp.
Hey SissyChris Matthews the New Right is the Old Wrong!
Eric,
Good point. I have lost much of my respect for Chris Mathews a long time ago. I was suprised by Keith last night though. What were these people thinking he was going to say? The media sets the tone on what they wat the President to say. What happened to the premise that the President should speak his mind not what a bunch media clowns think we need to hear. Let the man speak and we can judge from there. I thought he did a good job on the topic he chose to cover. After the meeting with BP today we all should have a better idea on how this is going to shape up (or fall apart). Keeping my fingers crossed.
I agree Eric, Matthews has become a republican wimp. He never challenges a conservative on his show anymore, he just lets them rant with their talking points and then half heartedly agrees with them.
Well, over on MSNBC, Keith Olbermann was criticizing Obama's speech for not focusing more on green energy legislation and CO2 reduction. Then I switched to Fox News Lite (aka CNN) where they were criticizing the speech because it focused too much on green energy legislation and CO2 reduction and not enough on the oil spill. So the president is clearly in a "d@mned if you do and d@mned if you don't" situation.
I also went up and down the dial to get a feel for how the Big Three (CNN, FNC and MSNBC) were reacting. It was pitiful. The President would still be talking if he addressed ALL of the issues the talking heads insisted he needed to address in order for him to rise to the standards they set. It was laughable!
My hope is that the President will not listen to the chattering class and continue to use his brain to get where he needs to go. His own intellect and perseverance have served him well so far.
As an aside, watching the focus group on CNN with Ali Velchi (sp) after the President's speech, it was mind-blowing how most of the guests talked about the need for the spill to be cleaned up ASAP so they can get on with their lives and hope that the fisheries and wildlife are restored soon. The irony is the other guests were worried about the moratorium on drilling because they need to get back to work! In orther words, they want to fish and drill at the same time. Didn't they try that before the spill?
Everytime one of the participants said they "want the leak to stop and the spill cleaned up" I envisioned a bubble over their head that said " not going to happen"!
Is this an insane world we live in?
"Did Obama meet the expectations that we (and others) laid out for him?..."
Since when was the President required to meet "your" expectations? Did you cat's in the beltway ever ponder the possibility that no one gives a damn what you expect? Probably should, if you can pull yourself away from suckling on the teat of GE long enough.
Good one! and I agree, the President's job is to lead this nation, it is not to please only those inside the beltway.
Hey Pat, Boston - There's no place like Home, huh? One game 7 for all the marbles, it's going to be awesome. I imagine Boston is shocked at how the Lakers beat up the Celtics last night and worried about Perkin's knee.
Yesterday I came close to fainting when I saw a commercial touting comprehensive energy climate change reform and it was paid for by the republican party of all entities. So funny the dopes of nope don't know if they're coming or going on energy reform, some of their political crybabies are whiuning aginst it yet the party is putting out ads that push it, even pushing the good things that Democrats want like higher mileage standards and more solar and wind power generation. Guess the party of sore losers can't get their message straight anymore.
Go Lakers!
Eric - the republicans never want clean energy or renewable energy, they own too much stock in the oil industry and now that those same people have owned dual stock in the automotive industry that is why we don't have autos that get 50 to 75 mpg. If the automotive industry had been making autos that get that kind of mileage since 1972 I imagine we would not be in this crisis.
On another note, everytime gas prices go up we in Tennessee get a little closer to coming to our senses and building commuter rails and better transportation in and around our larger cities (which I'm all for, would love to park the car and take a train!) - something you folks in California do quite well.
Sorry to dissapoint you though - I'm a Celtics fan, Go Boston! Boston ties with San Francisco in being my favorite city to vacation in (Chicago and Philly are tied for 3rd).
Have a peaceful day!
It's like a morgue here @ work today. We're in trouble. Deep trouble. But I am not throwing in the towel. Not after watching the Celtics throughout the playoffs. No way Jose'.
Go Celtics.
Eric
I saw the same commercial. I had to run my DVR back a couple of times because I could not believe it was sponsored by the Republican Party. WTF?? What are they trying to do? Change their entire platform and hope not one person notices that they changed?
eric & sonokursh2:
I believe it's called 'trolling for votes'. If they can 'skim pick' a couple votes from those not paying attention,...well, all's fair, etc.
What is very interesting at this point from the far right (less government) crowd, they feel the President and the government has done very little from the beginning. The question(s) to these folks is/are 1) If there was a smaller government do you think it would have been better equipped to handle a situation like this? 2) What resources could the government use from its own departments to stop this leak, since the government is not in the business itself? 3) As you request the governemt to do more, would that be asking for more government? 4) As the President keeps the pressure on BP, isn't that creating an environment of personal responsibility on the company that created this mess and making sure they are liable for this or would that fall under your claim of too much government?
Good points Terry and yes I think you have hit the nail on the head. The conservatives want the government out of everything until they need help - then they want the help without a way to pay for it.
Fellow DAV,
Good points. Now let us ask what the repugs would have done or will do. I have seen very little since this whole mess has started from the repugs. Watching the BP grilling yesterday remined me of another. Point the finger at BP, we would not do that (with no instruction on what they would do), yes the system is broken and we cannot fix it. Loked and sounded a lot like the Health Care debate on TV.
Must be a genetic thing.
Platitudes and Exploitation
Once again, President Obama served the American people a heaping helping of empty rhetoric, seasoned with the cynical desire to 'let no crisis go to waste'.
We heard nothing of the truth-sure, MMS will now have a new supervisor, who will be charged with doing the job of actually inspecting and ensuring that regulations are met; but his 'mea culpa' was, once again, 'it was the other guy's fault'.
The government will demand an escrow fund be set up to pay out claims; all well and good, but I am cynical enough to believe that if paperwork requirements are waived for those seeking payments, we will have more scandals such as those that arose after Katrina when the debit cards handed out to those in the path of the storm were found to have been used to purchase alcohol in strip clubs. Not all people are dishonest, but it is naive, if not stupid, to believe that there are no dishonest people out there looking to grab a quick buck.
Of course, in this case, it will not be the taxpayers, but the elderly who rely on dividend checks who subsidize the crooks.
There was no explanation of the government's incoherent response to the spill-no explanation of why it took so long to get the boom needed down there; no rational discussion of why crews were sent to the wrong areas; STILL no explanation of why Governor Jindal has to go it alone to build the berms necessary to keep the oil from reaching more of the barrier islands.
Anyone seeking these kinds of specifics from this president must have awoken from a coma yesterday-specifics are not Obama's thing. Exploitation is more his ball game.
Last night, after the platitudes were exhausted, we were exhorted to pray, and to lobby the Senate for the passage of Cap and Trade. Once again, he seeks to turn tragedy into a boon for his personal agenda.
If specifics are not Obama's strong suit, the law of unintended consequences is less so. He would further destroy our economy by shipping all manufacturing jobs to China, raise the costs of goods to astronomical heights due to the increased cost of shipping them, and increase the burden on already struggling families by increasing their energy costs.
In the Ivory Tower, these things do not matter-there is a perfect solution to every problem. Obama has never come to terms with the fact that in the real world, there ARE no perfect solutions.
Lastly,over the weekend, Obama told Politico that he was unhappy with the comparisons to Katrina; he actually had the unmitigated gall to compare this spill to 9/11. (I notice that First Read seemed to miss that particular quote.) So a meticulously planned attack on our nation is comparable in Obama's mind to an accident that no one, least of all BP, wanted to happen? An enemy that seeks to destroy us is equivalent to a series of wrong decisions that led to an unforeseen catastrophe?
This statement, more than the ridiculous speech last night, tells me all I need to know about Obama. He may be a legend in his own mind, but the nation now realizes what a disaster we visited upon ourselves when we elected this man.
AllBlow... don't you think it's about time to lay off the 'bitter' pills?
Are you capable of bringing anything new to this forum? Seriously it's the SAME thing day in & day out with you!
Ps: You forgot to mention him resigning... lol
You are truly pathetic and need to go away...far away. Perhaps we can use you to plug up the oil pipe itself as you are nothing but a gasbag fool!
Ok No Jo - tell me, do you want less government and less taxiation? If so then tell me how the government is supposed to fund cleaning up messes like this? Without a way to pay for it there is no way to clean it up. I get really confused when you guys spew crazy stuff like that, you don't seem to be very consistant on the issues which is why I never vote for republicans.
And it is all BP and Halliburton's fault, sorry if some oil exec does not get to collect all the big bucks he probably did not really earn from his retirement, but when you work with/for the devil you gotta know someday the devil is going to demand his due. I guess you must be one of those BP or halliburton workers or retirees, but you get no sympathy from me on that issue. Oil has finally become the dirty word is should have been all along, one of the republicans running for governor is from an oil family, he started his commericals bragging about that, now his commercials have changed, he no longer mentions that in his ads, of course no one around here is forgetting his dirty little secret.
Evidently BP had no clue, therefore did not care if this happened because they did not have a plan in place to clean up their mess from the beginning.
We all know you don't like President Obama, I still like him, I still support him, and I think he is doing the right thing by making BP pay up. For me and my working class family (yep we get up every morning at 5am, go to work, work 8 - 10 hours each day, 5 and 6 days a week) life and finances have gotten much better this year (we did not expect much last year as President Obama was still living under some of the junk George Bush threw under the bus his last couple of years in office) so he is no where near the disaster his predessor was to us. And I would vote for him again given the same choices.
WOW, no Joe. I see you are in rare form today. I can see that for you, everything is President Obama's fault. You even 'feel' for Gov. Jindal, even though he wanted MORE drilling. It doesn't matter that the coastline of the state he is charged with governing is now awash in oil and the infrastructure is gone for at least 2 decades.
Nah.
Let's just say this - No Joe, I SINCERELY hope that you will NEVER need anyone's help. EVER. With an attitude like yours, who would want to?
Obama is real good giving speeches about Hope and Change, but very poor at doing speeches when he has to talk about real world issues and real solutions. One word sums up Obama's speech last night, and his response, regarding the disaster in the Gulf: Pathetic! Obama gave this impression that the federal government would be omnipotent, would see over and take care of everyone. What a false claim that has turned out to be. Obama has shown that the government is slow, inefficient, expensive, and corrupt. Obama's MMS agency, in charge of regulating these oil rigs, looked the other way from issues they found because of political donations to the politicians that ran that office. And now the media, the liberal media, is starting to turn on Obama. They too see that Obama is nothing but a phony, a man without a clue on how to handle much of anything, other then to campaign on 'Hope and Change', and 'Yes We Can'.
Joanna, your post is interesting because you echo all of the NEGATIVE that there is about this President. I am OK with that, as this is your right. However, did you ever think that if you got your wish - and this President is not in office - that you will STILL have the same slow, inefficient, expensive and corrupt Government that we CURRENTLY have? So, Joanna, what say you?
I have been watching your posts for a while and all I ever see is the whining about how bad this President is. OK, fair enough, so when are you going to put up? When are you going to at least state what CAN be done so that fair mainded people will be able to make up their own minds? When are you going to put up some sort of solution - even if it is far fetched - so that at LEAST we know you are a THINKING individual?
The purpose of this blog is to share ideas and LEARN from those who post ideas. We have an ISSUE here that will require us ALL - for the good of us all - to think out of the box for once.
So I ask again - when are you going to put up something of value?
Joanna: your response was right on the money. Unfortunately, there are still people on this board who were sold on the bumper sticker slogans which passed as policy during the campaign, who cannot or will not admit that Obama is a very good candidate, but a complete and utter failure as an elected official.
As a state senator, his defining strength was to vote 'present'.
As a U.S. Senator, he rarely showed up; held not one hearing on Afghanistan, despite being the subcommittee chair, and spent most of his extremely short tenure running for higher office.
As president, well, the results speak for themselves. Suffice to say he is in way, way over his head.
By the way-don't let Pietro put you off. I learned a long time ago to ignore those posts; somehow, that poster got it into his head that he was some kind of student hall monitor; you remember that kid from middle school-the little belt they gave out went straight to their heads. Pietro is like that-constantly telling people what they SHOULD be posting, and attempting to intimidate them into toeing his imaginary line. On the other hand, it could very well be that he IS a seventh grader, which would explain a lot.
I didn't know that 'Pietro' defined, controlled, and moderated the content of the posts on this blog.
What is happening is that even the most left liberals are realizing the absolute failure Obama has become. The remaining die-hards can no longer defend Obama, and just lash out at anyone that points out the obvious failures of Obama and the Democrats. Obama ran for his office on an idea, on platitudes, and on a very abstract and meaningless message. Next time around he'll have to run on somethings he still does not have, results and accomplishments.
Jojo
You're right about platitudes
But, WHY doesn't the 'Free Market' fix this spill ? Dosen't it do Miracles?
Doesn't the 'Free Market' take care of EVERYTHING ?
Maybe the people of the Gulf Coast should move so the 'Free Market' can do its' Magic
Oh, and what ever happened to the States ?
Jindal and barbour didn't want Federal interference in their affiars
WHY don't THEY fix things ?
Pietro,
Excellent. I would not hold my breath waiting for any meaningful / intelligent response. These people just complain, complain and complain with little or sometimes nothing to back it up. They never offer solutions just talking points. I agree, this board is to exchange ideas and to hopefully learn and understand another's point of view. Iam all for that 100%and then some.
While I may not always agree or disagree with another's view, I do respect their right to voice it. What I do not respect is lies, misinformation, bigots, and people who sit on the asses all day and do nothing. We are all in this together (personal politics has nothing to do with it) and we better start helping with solutions and stop some of the crap I see onthis board. We need to make up our minds on what kind of country we want now and how are we going to leave it for our kids. We should all be able to woirk something of reason out of this, if we keep our minds open and work toward a common goal that helps everybody and not just a few.
While Pietro certainly doesn't need me to defend him, I need to point out the obvious. Joanna, you and NoJoe apparently didn't bother to actually read his comments. We don't expect you to "drink the kool-aid", but rather to actually state what the President SHOULD do in your opinion, instead of continually complaining that he's a failure and unqualified without any facts to back up your opinion.
You're both starting to sound like the Chihuahuas - all slogans, no substance.
LOL Mark!
That's asking a lot out of those two... And trust me the little doggies are around just using new names....
The states are taking the lead on the clean up. Jindal has stopped waiting for the federal governments response to his request to build berms in the Gulf to prevent oil from reaching the shore. While the Obama administration is studying the environmental impact of these berms, Jindal is ordering that the berms be built. Jindal will probably get a fine from the feds for being such a cowboy and acting alone.
Obama is trying oh so hard to appear that he is in charge of stopping the oil and doing a great job on the clean-up. In truth, Obama has mis-managed both. In the case of the leak, Obama has ignored other options from other oil companies on how to stop the leak, instead depending on BP to solve the problem. On the clean-up Obama has refused help from other countries to help cleanup the problem. And now the Obama administration is trying to cast blame on the states for not calling out their Nation Guards to help with the problem. The problem is that the Nation Guards have neither the equipment or the training to deal with the oil, and are useless in dealing with the problems.
Obama is no more in charge of anything in the Gulf then the Attorney General in Montana is in charge of it.
Well, Mark, despite having said it before, I will TELL you what Obama should do:
first of all, waive the Jones Act. Sure, his union buddies won't like it-but we should have accepted the help offered in the immediate aftermath of this spill; better late than never, I say.
I should also point out that his NOT accepting help was a thumb in the eye of the nations that offered that help; so much for his vaunted 'diplomatic skills'.
Secondly, it would be nice if, after calling together a panel of experts who spent their time, (and taxpayer money), putting together a report on the wisdom of the moratorium, he actually TOOK that advice, instead of granting himself an honorary degree in engineering, and declaring that he knew better than they what should be done.
I will also point out that he had a report on the malfeasance at MMS when he walked into office and did NOT ONE THING to correct those issues. Had he done so, we would not be having this discussion, as thee would have been no spill. MMS went from doing too few inspections prior to January 2009 to doing NONE AT ALL during Obama's presidency. There was not even a facade of improvement.
Tell me, what does that say for the message sent from the Oval office to Interior?
The media calls this Obama's Katrina; Obama is arrogant enough to liken it to 9/11. (Thank God he wasn't in charge then; 35 days would have gone by before he noticed a change in the New York skyline).
In my opinion, it is more like the Iran hostage crisis; I am not alone in this thinking, by the way. It is the result of the law of unintended consequences-lack of oversight and granting of waivers without inspections in this case; Carter's naive belief that the Ayatollah Khomenie was a benign religious figure in that case. NEITHER man had a clue how to procede, blamed their predecessors for the problem, and, in general, allowed the crisis to prove to the electorate how hopelessly incompetent they were at jobs they never should have held.
One more point: Obama should be kissing the feet of Hayward for providing this oil crisis, despite the fact it was an accident. It has completely taken the focus off the disastrous results of his policy in Afghanistan.
What about the elected officials down in the gulf that say the President is doing a great job? Please remember these are conservative leaders that have said the President has kept daily contact and is working hard. Am I to believe you over them? Governor Jindal is thinking of whats best for his state (which I can understand) the government has to think of the region. He may be doing more harm than good with these berms, only time will tell if his gamble will pay off.
Sorry JoAnnSmith, but your just nuts. Everything you just posted above is one big lie. Go get the actual facts then come back and post a coherent thought. And please don't go to Fox to get your facts, their the ones that are making you look stupid in the first place.
I agree with a few things in your rant but this one stood out because your projecting your own hatred d of the president onto the people of the US. Last I checked, president Obama's numbers were still the same. His numbers specifically handling the oil catastrophe have fallen to 52.
I think the majority of people want investment in renewables and, if the GOP will stop being spoiled children and can put their minds to the stone along with the Dem's, we may just get an energy bill that is worth a damn.
I believe you are among the minority, nj.
Jindal receivd $40 million from BP to start, what has he done for his state?
No,no, are you criticizing the President asking everyone to pray for the nation and its problem?
Joanne, God does not like ugly...
No Jo, your comment about voting present is just short sided and does not tell the truth about president Obama when he was a state senator,
He sponsered a bill making is mandatory for all confession to be video taped, we had a guy named John Burge who was tourtoring suspects, to date 10 men have had there cases thrown out because of this guy, currenty he is on trial for civil right violations, many had to spend years in jail before there cases were thrown out and i think 2 of there were on death row. they also think 1 man was put to death based upon this guy deating a confession out of him.
he co sponsered a bill providing health insurance for all children here in Illinois.
they there was the child tax credit he was a co sponser of here in illinois
the present vote had to do with a adortion bill that was being voted on but was not complete, so he and other lawmakers voted present to keep the bill alive.
your not from Illinois and thank god your not the last thing we need here is a person like you that olny shows hate. i hope when you meet your maker you have a good reason why, remember president Obama is one of gods children just like you and in his eyes(god) there is no room for hate.
Well, no joe reached an all-time high, or should I say low, in logic. Pres Obama should be grateful to BP for blowing up a well and killing 11 people not to mention the environmental and economic disaster to Gulf residents. How absolutely stupid. If I recall, the right wing had frenzied fits when some liberals dared suggest that Bush/Cheney were happy for 9/11--that way they could start a couple wars. I seriously doubt the comment was meant the way it read but the blatant hatred for OUR President has warped the ability to reason.
Agreed & Voted!
You people need to STOP screwing around on the internet and START trying to figure out just who or what evil corporation got to KeithO and paid or threatened him to criticize The New Messiah. It is absolutely impossible that he was thinking for himself or that Obama actually deserves any criticism at ANY time.
First Chuck Todd turned on you, then Tingle Leg Matthews, Maureen "The Hag" Dowd...and now Keith! My God, what network are you pathetic wretches going to watch?
My problem is not with criticizing my problem is with over exaggeration for ratings sakes. Many if not all of the reporter, pundits, analysts, and anchors do it now. If the President does something that deserves criticism do it in a clear and relevant way. Basically they are saying they will believe it when they see it. My question is why not just say "the President has promised and called for some great things tonight we will be the first on the scene to let you know if they happen or fail to happen." That would be good reporting in my humble opinion. No one says he is the Messiah but I have heard other say he is the anti-christ. Delusional much?
Actually Chuckey Doll what we really need to do is give you an intervention as you are in deep need of professional psychiatric help. Don't you even know that Maureen "The Hag" Dowd is one of you repugnant ones? Must be blissful living life always Out to Lunch mentally, huh? Now go back to NewsWhine at Fox and Freaks where you can schmooze with the idiot crowd, you know your kind of lowlifes.
Hey, fuc. Certainly not the pathetic propaganda network that YOU watch...
People need to get over it that it's President Obama's job to plug the damned hole that BP Oil created. Sorry but BP Oil is the guilty party and BP Oil is the responsible party that promised it could deal with any oil spill. Private industry created the Gulf oil spill and private industry has to fix their massive screwup. It's not the federal government's job to plug the hole or cleanup BP Oil's big spill, the federal government is repsosible for making sure that BP Oil pays for it's rush to profits mistake and I have every confidence that Obama will hold BP Oil's feet to the fire.
It's really disgusting seeing the dopes of nope Drill Baby Drill crowd in the oil slimed Gulf red states whining about the sane 6 month deepwater offshore oil drilling ban, don't you morons get it that the moratorium is to save you from facing another oil spill off your shores before we can get the first one cleaned up. We need to force the corrupt oil drillers to clean up their act when drilling in deepwater off our shores. After they've had enough time to ensure their safety standards are raised and that their cleanup technology is improved with cleanup equipment that works then it will be okay for them tor esume drilling.
People need to stop thinking that the current low tech boom system isn't going to corral all the oil leaked and that cleanup is going to take a long long time because of so much oil spilled by BP Oil. This private industry disaster could have been prevented had BP Oil not been in such a rush to profits and didn't cut corners. Now we have to wait for BP Oil to get it's cleanup act together after it delayed facing the reality of the magnitude of the spill.
It's BP Oil's Fault!
Silly Eric, your argument runs completely counter to the philosophy "Privatize reward, socialize risk."
Ironic that even the oil is red down there.
Hey John the Clueless - that's your mantra sore loser "privatize profits and socialize risk". Remember it was Clueless George Bush who cried wolf that we had to save his big banking pals so they could continue to rip us all off. Don't forget you're the Red Connie Menace!
Errr Eric... John's on our team - I believe he was being sarcastic.... ;0)
OOOPs!!!
The one thing Obama should do is tell the Federal Agencies involved with clean up and prevention in the Gulf states is to act quickly on all reasonable requests and not get mired down in beurocratic red tape nonsense. I heard that Jindal was crying that the Feds didn't let him build berms/man made islands fast enough. What he was proposing could've made things worse and cause more harm by funnelling the oil to more sensative shore lines....perhaps up the Mississippi River itself. And people crying that the Feds are not getting claims paid fast enough...however, this is only meant to prevent fraudulent claims.
One last point - it would've been helpful if Obama noted the help we are getting or that is being offered by other countries.
Very interesting Terry, I thought much the same this morning as I saw David Vitter on one of the morning shows whining about it being too little, too late. Congratulations Vitter and all those like you. You got the government off the backs of industry so they could be as productive as possible. See what they produced.
It's important also to not fall for the argument that BP is a rogue player and all the other companies are better. We don't know that, in fact there's evidence much to the opposite. Cut and paste environmental plans, many of them written by the same consultant that wrote BP's plan. Resistance to additional layers of safety protection. A weak regulatory scheme geared more toward protection FROM government than protection OF the environment. Crooked regulators, bought and paid for by industry bribes.
How many times do we need to see the destructive fruits of deregulation before we see it for the evil that it is?
John, with the deregulation crowd, we get greed and lack of safety and disasters strike. Unfortunately greed has swallowed this country and we are seeing the fruits of their labor (distasters) to the country economically and environmentally and very costly to the citizens of this country.
It's really too bad that the hot air generated by another Obama speech couldn't be harnessed to meet the USA's energy needs without using oil or coal. At least then he could claim credit for ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING to solve the problem. This is not "Obama's Katrina", it's his Jimmy Carter "Iran hostage crisis" which showed the ineptitude of another unqualified rookie President. I'm surprised Obama didn't term this the "moral equivalent of war"...... MEOW.
You really have to feel for PResident Obama..he's dealing with all the mess left by Bush and Cheney...this oil spill is directly connected with them. You say Obama is inept at dealing with this spill? Tell me, how would McCain have handled it differently? All he would have done was scream and flail his arms about circling the oval office desk. Technology simply doesn't exist to plug this thing up like running facet. There is not enough boom and skimmers to get all the oil that just keep coming out. This administration has organized clean up efforts as best as any administration could or would. Bush had it easy with Katrina...the storm came and went and all he had to do was get food and water to those stranded...but he didn't until it was too late. This is way bigger than that. That you and your ilk just dont get is sad...really sad.
"You really have to feel for PResident Obama.."
No, actually I don't.
No one forced him to run for President.
The ability to give a good speech off a teleprompter does not equal competence at leadership of the USA. History seems to be proving that point.
Right back at you: That you and your ilk just dont get is sad...really sad.
And, there, Joe, you have it in a nutshell.
Obama runs around whining about the crisis du jour-things that come up to prevent him from doing what he sees as his job-and generally acting as if he was forced into office against his will.
Those who worship him support that stance, seeming to forget that they thought he had all the answers when it was clear to 47% of the country that he did not even understand the questions.
You can tell when the wing-nuts don't have anything to say, they bring up the teleprompter. Their and Fox favorite talking point. What a pitiful bunch they've become.
The teleprompter says it all. Obama is nothing without it and last night he was nothing even WITH it. Even long time, loyal O'ass-kissers and O'boot-lickers like Mathews, Olbermann and Fineman are now finally waking up and figuring that out.
Right back at you: Liberals, What a pitiful bunch they've become.
Actually, what a pitiful bunch they've always been.
Jon Stewart is certainly dissing President Obama on the Gulf oil spill, but he's also blaming the proper party namely BP Oil. He's also going after the whining repugnant ones who whine about everything Obama. He certainly got in a great dig on the Wasilla Hillbilly Palin. So perfect how he was teasing President Obama of being Frodo wanting to hang on to his Precious (the presidency), trying to keep it away from Gollum - namely Simpleton Sarah Palin. Jon certainly nailed Sinner Sarah perfectly as Gollum.
I also loved how Jon went after Fox and Freaks again, regaling us with their lies and making it so humorous. Then again Fox and Freaks is the Bad Humor channel of and for limpwristed conservative crybabies. The rightwing propaganda channel is so out to lunch, why last week that Ugly Duckling Gretchen Carlson was whining that Prewsident Obama didn't have enough "Empathy" for the Gulf red state crowd. Funny how the hypocrites at Fox and Freaks whine about Obama wanting judges with empathy yet now they want Barack to have empathy for their crowd of sore losers who have done nothing but trash our first black president.
It is very apparent that this Administration is ham strung by the Blago trial. Will Blago sing? Or will he take the hit? I noticed the Freudian slip when Obama referred to the drill rig as the "Deep White Water".
Everyone in the WH is worried about that trial out in Chicago.
Ohhh I get it now...
You're incapable of forming a coherent thought... so you decided it would be a good idea to just throw some sh!t out here and see if it will stick...
Grade = Epic Fail!
Your response says a great deal about yourself.
So Rob your in the White House and you know for a fact that everyone in the WH is worried? Isn't it amazing how these wing-nuts know everything, but have absolutely no evidence to back their claim up.
Rob,
Your post says a lot about you as well. Feisty was correct to call you out (sorry Feisty - know you need no help from me). To many people are just typing crap with no facts to bear them out and no solutions to make it better. You must have had a bad childhood. Have you thought of therapy????
Floridians certainly don't want that health industry scammer Tricky Rick Scott getting elected, he'll definitely pull the plug on Grandma and Grandpa if they aren't profitable enough for his likes. I still say that Chuckles Crist isn't a real Democrat and he's just trying to connive them into voting for him so he can then turn traitor on them and caucus with the party of sore losers. Democrats in Flordia can't trust Chuckles Crist not to pull a bait and switch, they have to remember he's a repugnant one and will always be a repugnant one. So funny how Credit Card Criminal Rube Rubio is faltering now that he no longer has Crist to kick around anymore in his primary. Plus let's hope that Criminal Greer ends up sinking both Rube Rubio and old Bait and switch Chuckles Crist.
I sure hope that there is a solid investigation into the voter fraud perpetrated by the repugnant ones in south carolina where they planted Alvin Greene and then rigged the voting machines to vote him into winning the primary. They use those Diebold voting machines made by a conservative ccompany that have no paper trail and are rife for fraudulent tampering. With no paper trail the election officials in south carolina have no hope of finding out what the real vote totals should be. The repugnant ones have abused Diebold machines many times in many states to fraudulently steal elections, just ask Clueless George Bush how the Diebold company handed him Ohio twice after it's repugnant one owner promised Cheater George he would deliver the vote for him.
Really sad that 10 years after the repugnant ones stole the presidential election with massive election fraud, especially in Florida, we still don't have national standards for voting machines. I love electronic voting here in Salinas, CA because we have paper trails that can be used to overcome any problems with the machines. Plus unlike in south carolina when we touch the screen for a particular candidate we get the vote for that candidate, so unlike in south carolina where voters encountered malfunctioning screens - purposely malfunctioning screens rigged by the corrupt conservative election officials there.
Great lines from Presidential speeches
I don't know how we will win but, with confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounded determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.
--FDR
I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. I don't know how we will do this but, we will try.
--JFK
Even if we’re unsure exactly what that looks like. Even if we don’t yet know precisely how we’re going to get there.
--BHO
OK, so only one of the above is a true quote of absolute vagueness...I'll let you decide which one it is.
John - failing to include the entire point of President Obama's statement in order to show your own condescension is juvenile.
Instead of wasting your energy cutting and pasting...how about solutions....how about telling us what you are doing to help us all work towards energy independence? This is serious business, it involves everyone in our country. We must all come together in order to achieve the goal.
I'm laughing so hard that despite the best efforts of Fox and Freaks and the conservative Lamestream media the Democrats are still leading the Impotent Minority in the poll showing which party is favored to lead Congress. So funny that the Democrats have won the hearts and minds of real Americans for the second month running after a one month hijacking of the top spot by the dopes of nope. Not going to win back control of Congress that way tea bagging liars!
I think that real Americans are getting sick and tired of the tea bagging liars who are nothing but ultra conservative radical subversives bent upon destroying our Secular Democracy and the Separation of Church and State so wisely done by our Founding Fathers. Real Americans are getting sick and tired of the Whine Baby Whine crowd of Neo-Nazi White Supremacists who are showing they are nothing but the second coming of the KKK. Almost daily some racist dope of nope makes some racist rant and each time more and more Americans are realizing that the tea baggers are just lying conspiracy nutcases.
Tea Baggers are too Kooky and Spooky for Real Americans!
why do republicans hate america?
I really don't know what more the President can do except to work with BP on a solution. He did not create this problem and has to go along with whatever solutions that they can try. People are quick to blame, and want quick fixes, but that may not be possible right now.