Day 42: What has he done?

[txlonghorn]

I don't get it. What would conservatives have Barack Obama do?

I dislike the Obama Administration as much as anyone else but there's nothing Obama can really do about the situation right now.

At least he's not still sitting in the Kindergarten class reading books to the kids...

Has Obama been to visit ANY of the families who lost loved ones in the explosion? No.

It took Obama 11 days to finally make an appearance on LA's coast line. E L E V E N days.

Compare that to Bush's 24 response standing on a pile of rubble at Ground Zero.

11 dead...11 days

It's not about him fixing it...it's simply the appearance of being engaged. He's making more of an effort now, thanks to Carville and all the flack he's caught from his own media outlets.

It's the old saying..."Don't just stand there....DO SOMETHING!" Anything!!

 

[Chris]

good for you! That's taking the ol' bull by the horns! I hope you're as committed to the cause as to not buy anything that is transported by ship, train, plane or big rig...I'd wager that at least 4% of every dollar spent on items that are shipped across the nation or across the ocean goes toward the fuel used for the transport of those items...maybe more.

Don't forget to follow BO's advice and keep your tires inflated properly. That's important and can save millions of gallons a year...at least that's what he said.

No what's important is that dumb fuck Republicans attack Obama when all of our problems, the derivative scandal, mine disasters, oil spills, etc... come from out of control corporate greed and the lack of government regulation.

Figure it out, my friend.

how much more government regulation would make you happy? Would you have all private businesses controlled by congress? Would you be happy letting the government "regulate" how much you can make as a business owner? Would you like to surrender all business decisions to a panel of corporate lawmakers?

The only people complaining about corporate greed are the ones who didn't or haven't put forth the effort to achieve wealth in business.

I wonder if you share the same negative view of pro athletes? should they make 40, 50, 80 mill a year just for playing a sport for 4 months a year? Is that corporate greed too?

Just wait, BP will be the biggest target on the planet and the oil drilling industry will be in shambles pretty soon. All those rigs, deserted and lifeless. MORE jobs disappear, it'll cost 70 bucks to fill up your little gas saving econo-car...

Horseshit.

We need to reinstate the Wall Street firewalls that were in effect for 60 years of American prosperity. We need to do what Norway and Brazil did after bad oil spills....they made all the drillers put in an accoustical switches to turn off the wells in case of a blowout. And we need to take a closer look at the conditions that our coal miners work under, so they don't die on the job because some bastard cut corners.

And I work seven days a week, so that crap about "those who complain about corporate greed" is bullshit.

Actually the opposite is true. Those who complain about the government are usually over 65 or veterans getting a check every month from the government.

 

[The T]

No what's important is that dumb fuck Republicans attack Obama when all of our problems, the derivative scandal, mine disasters, oil spills, etc... come from out of control corporate greed and the lack of government regulation.

Figure it out, my friend.

how much more government regulation would make you happy? Would you have all private businesses controlled by congress? Would you be happy letting the government "regulate" how much you can make as a business owner? Would you like to surrender all business decisions to a panel of corporate lawmakers?

The only people complaining about corporate greed are the ones who didn't or haven't put forth the effort to achieve wealth in business.

I wonder if you share the same negative view of pro athletes? should they make 40, 50, 80 mill a year just for playing a sport for 4 months a year? Is that corporate greed too?

Just wait, BP will be the biggest target on the planet and the oil drilling industry will be in shambles pretty soon. All those rigs, deserted and lifeless. MORE jobs disappear, it'll cost 70 bucks to fill up your little gas saving econo-car...

Horseshit.

We need to reinstate the Wall Street firewalls that were in effect for 60 years of American prosperity. We need to do what Norway and Brazil did after bad oil spills....they made all the drillers put in an accoustical switches to turn off the wells in case of a blowout. And we need to take a closer look at the conditions that our coal miners work under, so they don't die on the job because some bastard cut corners.

And I work seven days a week, so that crap about "those who complain about corporate greed" is bullshit.

Actually the opposite is true. Those who complain about the government are usually over 65 or veterans getting a check every month from the government.

Really Dumbfuck?

*I* am a Vet...below 65 by a longshot and Don't collect a check from anyone but my EMPLOYER.

*YOU are an IDIOT*

You presume way too much and are talking out of YOUR ASS.

 

[Chris]

how much more government regulation would make you happy? Would you have all private businesses controlled by congress? Would you be happy letting the government "regulate" how much you can make as a business owner? Would you like to surrender all business decisions to a panel of corporate lawmakers?

The only people complaining about corporate greed are the ones who didn't or haven't put forth the effort to achieve wealth in business.

I wonder if you share the same negative view of pro athletes? should they make 40, 50, 80 mill a year just for playing a sport for 4 months a year? Is that corporate greed too?

Just wait, BP will be the biggest target on the planet and the oil drilling industry will be in shambles pretty soon. All those rigs, deserted and lifeless. MORE jobs disappear, it'll cost 70 bucks to fill up your little gas saving econo-car...

Horseshit.

We need to reinstate the Wall Street firewalls that were in effect for 60 years of American prosperity. We need to do what Norway and Brazil did after bad oil spills....they made all the drillers put in an accoustical switches to turn off the wells in case of a blowout. And we need to take a closer look at the conditions that our coal miners work under, so they don't die on the job because some bastard cut corners.

And I work seven days a week, so that crap about "those who complain about corporate greed" is bullshit.

Actually the opposite is true. Those who complain about the government are usually over 65 or veterans getting a check every month from the government.

Really Dumbfuck?

*I* am a Vet...below 65 by a longshot and Don't collect a check from anyone but my EMPLOYER.

*YOU are an IDIOT*

You presume way too much and are talking out of YOUR ASS.

Not really.

Republicans and Tea Party people tend to be older.

Younger people tend to be more Democratic.

The truth is tough to take sometimes, isn't it?

 

[mudwhistle]

Day 42 of the oil leak - what has the Obama White House done to help protect the shoreline and the Americans who call those lands home?

What has Obama done?

A lot.

What have you done?

NO really...what has he done?

Try listing what he's done to decrease the damage from this oil spill.

What has he provided the locals that is helping them as far as equipment, technical advice, leadership, etc., anything?

To date...he's merely pointed fingers.

And now he's reacted to everyone's accusations that he's too cool, too disengaged, and too uncaring by blowing a head-gasket attempting to act like he really gives a fuck.

48 days after day one he thinks this is gonna snooker everyone into thinking he cares?

What a self-centered asshole.

 

[mudwhistle]

Horseshit.

We need to reinstate the Wall Street firewalls that were in effect for 60 years of American prosperity. We need to do what Norway and Brazil did after bad oil spills....they made all the drillers put in an accoustical switches to turn off the wells in case of a blowout. And we need to take a closer look at the conditions that our coal miners work under, so they don't die on the job because some bastard cut corners.

And I work seven days a week, so that crap about "those who complain about corporate greed" is bullshit.

Actually the opposite is true. Those who complain about the government are usually over 65 or veterans getting a check every month from the government.

Really Dumbfuck?

*I* am a Vet...below 65 by a longshot and Don't collect a check from anyone but my EMPLOYER.

*YOU are an IDIOT*

You presume way too much and are talking out of YOUR ASS.

Not really.

Republicans and Tea Party people tend to be older.

Younger people tend to be more Democratic.

The truth is tough to take sometimes, isn't it?

Maybe because older people are wiser, less compulsive, and use more common-sense.

 

[Chris]

Day 42 of the oil leak - what has the Obama White House done to help protect the shoreline and the Americans who call those lands home?

What has Obama done?

A lot.

What have you done?

NO really...what has he done?

Try listing what he's done to decrease the damage from this oil spill.

What has he provided the locals that is helping them as far as equipment, technical advice, leadership, etc., anything?

To date...he's merely pointed fingers.

And now he's reacted to everyone's accusations that he's too cool, too disengaged, and too uncaring by blowing a head-gasket attempting to act like he really gives a fuck.

48 days after day one he thinks this is gonna snooker everyone into thinking he cares?

What a self-centered asshole.

Yes you are.

The Coast Guard, BP, the MMS, are all working on the problem. They are the experts.

And BP has billions of dollars to spend fixing the problem.

What the government needs to do is what Norway and Brazil did by requiring the oil companies to install accoustical switches in all their wells.

 

[mudwhistle]

What has Obama done?

A lot.

What have you done?

NO really...what has he done?

Try listing what he's done to decrease the damage from this oil spill.

What has he provided the locals that is helping them as far as equipment, technical advice, leadership, etc., anything?

To date...he's merely pointed fingers.

And now he's reacted to everyone's accusations that he's too cool, too disengaged, and too uncaring by blowing a head-gasket attempting to act like he really gives a fuck.

48 days after day one he thinks this is gonna snooker everyone into thinking he cares?

What a self-centered asshole.

Yes you are.

The Coast Guard, BP, the MMS, are all working on the problem. They are the experts.

And BP has billions of dollars to spend fixing the problem.

What the government needs to do is what Norway and Brazil did by requiring the oil companies to install accoustical switches in all their wells.

The Coast Guard was part of the problem early on. They literally did nothing...under orders.

BP won't be spending their money....they'll be spending ours.

They don't have unlimited funds. Any costs will be passed on to the consumer.....and Obama is simply making everything even worse by suing them and talking about bringing charges against BP before the disaster has completely played itself out. [What a way to work the problem you dumb-ass] He's not working with BP. He being an antagonist.

Jesus Christ you're thick.

 

[Chris]

NO really...what has he done?

Try listing what he's done to decrease the damage from this oil spill.

What has he provided the locals that is helping them as far as equipment, technical advice, leadership, etc., anything?

To date...he's merely pointed fingers.

And now he's reacted to everyone's accusations that he's too cool, too disengaged, and too uncaring by blowing a head-gasket attempting to act like he really gives a fuck.

48 days after day one he thinks this is gonna snooker everyone into thinking he cares?

What a self-centered asshole.

Yes you are.

The Coast Guard, BP, the MMS, are all working on the problem. They are the experts.

And BP has billions of dollars to spend fixing the problem.

What the government needs to do is what Norway and Brazil did by requiring the oil companies to install accoustical switches in all their wells.

The Coast Guard was part of the problem early on. They literally did nothing...under orders.

BP won't be spending their money....they'll be spending ours.

They don't have unlimited funds. Any costs will be passed on to the consumer.....and Obama is simply making everything even worse by suing them and talking about bringing charges against BP before the disaster has completely played itself out. [What a way to work the problem you dumb-ass] He's not working with BP. He being an antagonist.

Jesus Christ you're thick.

Not really.

Do you do any reading? BP is paying for everything.

 

[SpidermanTuba]

Q: How many days did it take for Obama to approve use of DOD equipment to aid in compating the oil spill?

A: NINE DAYS after the spill began.

He could have done it a year before the spill started wouldn't have satisfied haters like you.

 

[SpidermanTuba]

Obama is not to blame directly for the oil rig explosion - though his administration, as you point out, was going on two years in of overseeing and enforcing the regulations pertaining to such rigs.

2 years - a comparatively long time compared to the tiny bit of experience BP has in drilling wells.

 

[sangha]

My post was meant as a response to the "Blame Bush's MMS crowd that Obama had no time to fire" comments. If that agency is as devoid of ethics and competence as some have said, shouldn't it have been cleaned up? And wouldn't you expect BO and his czarina to be aware of what the MMS was up to? (Well, OK - with BO's inexperience, he might be forgiven for not even knowing there was an MMS.)

Umm, Presidents don't have a magic wand they can wave and make civil service employees disappear. There are laws about this, but hey, why bother learning about the law, right?

What advice was Browner giving him regarding the MMS? Any? I don't know. Maybe she decided on a hands-off approach, considering that, as agencies go, MMS was doing okay, being second only to the IRS in bringing in revenue.

You don't know, but that sure doesn't stop you from biasws speculation. The administration has forced some of bush appointees out and is working to oust the others. This has been reported in the news. You could Google it, but that would require some effort.

 

[sangha]

Really Dumbfuck?

*I* am a Vet...below 65 by a longshot and Don't collect a check from anyone but my EMPLOYER.

*YOU are an IDIOT*

You presume way too much and are talking out of YOUR ASS.

Not really.

Republicans and Tea Party people tend to be older.

Younger people tend to be more Democratic.

The truth is tough to take sometimes, isn't it?

Maybe because older people are wiser, less compulsive, and use more common-sense.

Wiser?

Is that why the teabaggers want the govt to keeps its' hands off of Medicare?

 

[sangha]

I don't get it. What would conservatives have Barack Obama do?...

I started a thread title "What should Obama have done".

The conservatives response = "More photo ops"

 

[Murf76]

Sure I do, You're not smart enough to realize that by giving bush a pass for doing the same thing you reveal yourself as a hypocrit.

That's why you can't name one single thing that Obama could have done to help the cleanup

You're a complete failure

Too funny... Obama-stooge thinks other people are hypocrites.
You know, being a hypocrite is the first and foremost requirement of Obama-stoogedom.


Here's the deal... This disaster did NOT happen on Bush's watch. It happened on Obama's. And after all his rabid anti-Bush rhetoric, in the 16 months since he's taken office and despite the fact that he, himself, recently authorized off-shore drilling... he never bothered to check if his bureaucratic agencies were actually doing their jobs. It doesn't MATTER if there are regulations in place if those regulations are not enforced, and it's no longer G.W.'s job to enforce them. It's Obama's. Clearly, enforecement was lax as we see in the waiver to BP for an environmental impact study.

The irony is astounding. The government has not federalized the disaster response under the Oil Pollution Act. Besides, the MMS was supposed to be the watchdog, and they failed miserably. The MMS mission is to “manage the ocean energy and mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf and Federal and American Indian mineral revenues to enhance public and trust benefits, promote responsible use, and realize fair value.”

In fact, all offshore operations should have a Disaster Recovery Plan. The Plan should include, based on a criteria of conditions, the de-commissioning of operations and a contingency plan to minimize impacts and implement the recovery process. The MMS, the Department of Energy and relevant Gulf State authorities should have pre-defined and enforced the criterion and the Plan.

Bottom line, the corrupt MMS and other agencies did not ensure disaster planning was in place. Neither did Washington respond to offers by several nations to provide assistance in the recovery effort.

(more...)
Gulf Oil Spill: ?Government by Corruption and Exploitation?

So... there was no emergency response on stand-by, despite the fact that BP had already projected the path of a catastrophic oil spill would take and despite the fact that they had already admitted that no toxicity studies had been accomplished on the dispersant they planned to use in such an event.

BP's Spill Plan: What they knew and when they knew it

And then... when everything did go to pot, Obama KNEW that it was going to be bad. He was briefed back in April that "the blowout would likely lead to an unprecedented environmental disaster" and that he could "expect an oil spill that would continue until a relief well was drilled in August".
Hot Air Report: Obama knew from the beginning that oil leak would likely last months

Which doesn't explain why Bobby Jindal and the Gulf State governors have had to BEG for boom, skimmers, barges, and sand berms. It doesn't explain why the federal government would waste time making "studies" on dredging when they know full fucking well what the impact of crude oil in the marshes will be. It doesn't explain why every expert on the face of this planet isn't down in the Gulf lending a hand.
BP Oil Spill: Governor Bobby Jindal Says Louisiana Needs More Supplies - ABC News

You want to bring G.W. into this?... It's just too damn bad that G.W. isn't in charge of it. 'Cause it's hard to believe that with his oil background he wouldn't have IMMEDIATELY addressed the impending disaster. It's hard to believe that he'd have stood idly by while our Gulf State governors did without. Is it because they're Republicans that Obama didn't move on their requests? Is he THAT much of a black-hearted partisan? Or is it because he's USING this crisis in order to push for his Cap-and-Tax scam and needs a big enough disaster to sway public opinion? What the fuck should people think but "The Worst" when his actions thus far make no rational sense?

You want to defend the guy regardless of how crappy he is at his job. I get that. It's what Obots do. But you're wasting your time if you believe that the American people are so stupid that they can't see there were things that the Obama administration could have done differently and that they won't question why those things weren't done in a timely manner.

 

[sangha]

Sure I do, You're not smart enough to realize that by giving bush a pass for doing the same thing you reveal yourself as a hypocrit.

That's why you can't name one single thing that Obama could have done to help the cleanup

You're a complete failure

Too funny... Obama-stooge thinks other people are hypocrites.
You know, being a hypocrite is the first and foremost requirement of Obama-stoogedom.


Here's the deal... This disaster did NOT happen on Bush's watch. It happened on Obama's. And after all his rabid anti-Bush rhetoric, in the 16 months since he's taken office and despite the fact that he, himself, recently authorized off-shore drilling... he never bothered to check if his bureaucratic agencies were actually doing their jobs. It doesn't MATTER if there are regulations in place if those regulations are not enforced, and it's no longer G.W.'s job to enforce them. It's Obama's. Clearly, enforecement was lax as we see in the waiver to BP for an environmental impact study.

The irony is astounding. The government has not federalized the disaster response under the Oil Pollution Act. Besides, the MMS was supposed to be the watchdog, and they failed miserably. The MMS mission is to “manage the ocean energy and mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf and Federal and American Indian mineral revenues to enhance public and trust benefits, promote responsible use, and realize fair value.”

In fact, all offshore operations should have a Disaster Recovery Plan. The Plan should include, based on a criteria of conditions, the de-commissioning of operations and a contingency plan to minimize impacts and implement the recovery process. The MMS, the Department of Energy and relevant Gulf State authorities should have pre-defined and enforced the criterion and the Plan.

Bottom line, the corrupt MMS and other agencies did not ensure disaster planning was in place. Neither did Washington respond to offers by several nations to provide assistance in the recovery effort.

(more...)
Gulf Oil Spill: ?Government by Corruption and Exploitation?

So... there was no emergency response on stand-by, despite the fact that BP had already projected the path of a catastrophic oil spill would take and despite the fact that they had already admitted that no toxicity studies had been accomplished on the dispersant they planned to use in such an event.

BP's Spill Plan: What they knew and when they knew it

And then... when everything did go to pot, Obama KNEW that it was going to be bad. He was briefed back in April that "the blowout would likely lead to an unprecedented environmental disaster" and that he could "expect an oil spill that would continue until a relief well was drilled in August".
Hot Air Report: Obama knew from the beginning that oil leak would likely last months

Which doesn't explain why Bobby Jindal and the Gulf State governors have had to BEG for boom, skimmers, barges, and sand berms. It doesn't explain why the federal government would waste time making "studies" on dredging when they know full fucking well what the impact of crude oil in the marshes will be. It doesn't explain why every expert on the face of this planet isn't down in the Gulf lending a hand.
BP Oil Spill: Governor Bobby Jindal Says Louisiana Needs More Supplies - ABC News

You want to bring G.W. into this?... It's just too damn bad that G.W. isn't in charge of it. 'Cause it's hard to believe that with his oil background he wouldn't have IMMEDIATELY addressed the impending disaster. It's hard to believe that he'd have stood idly by while our Gulf State governors did without. Is it because they're Republicans that Obama didn't move on their requests? Is he THAT much of a black-hearted partisan? Or is it because he's USING this crisis in order to push for his Cap-and-Tax scam and needs a big enough disaster to sway public opinion? What the fuck should people think but "The Worst" when his actions thus far make no rational sense?

You want to defend the guy regardless of how crappy he is at his job. I get that. It's what Obots do. But you're wasting your time if you believe that the American people are so stupid that they can't see there were things that the Obama administration could have done differently and that they won't question why those things weren't done in a timely manner.

ANother complete failure from a conservative who can't name one thing Obama neglected to do.

It's OK that bush went 8 years without a plan, but it's horrible that Obama went for a year without a plan.

It's just too damn bad that G.W. isn't in charge of it. 'Cause it's hard to believe that with his oil background he wouldn't have IMMEDIATELY addressed the impending disaster. It's hard to believe that he'd have stood idly by while our Gulf State governors did without.

bush didnt stand idly by. He played guitar with a country singer.

And Condi went shopping for shoes after seeing a broadway play

 

[Murf76]

ANother complete failure from a conservative who can't name one thing Obama neglected to do.

It's OK that bush went 8 years without a plan, but it's horrible that Obama went for a year without a plan.

It's just too damn bad that G.W. isn't in charge of it. 'Cause it's hard to believe that with his oil background he wouldn't have IMMEDIATELY addressed the impending disaster. It's hard to believe that he'd have stood idly by while our Gulf State governors did without.

bush didnt stand idly by. He played guitar with a country singer.

And Condi went shopping for shoes after seeing a broadway play

Pull your head out of your ass for long enough to actually READ the post before you respond to it. There has not been enough time between my posting and yours for you to check the links I provided. And even if you refuse to look at the information, it's CLEAR what Obama should have done.

 

[Sinatra]

Great post - the Obamapologists are backed into a corner and they know it.

This president sat back and shrugged for days and weeks as this disaster grew and spread.

9 days before federal aid equipment was approved.

A month before Louisiana was allowed to even begin to construct shoreline barriers to protect themselves.

SEVEN DAYS OF GOLF since the oil leak began.
______

Sure I do, You're not smart enough to realize that by giving bush a pass for doing the same thing you reveal yourself as a hypocrit.

That's why you can't name one single thing that Obama could have done to help the cleanup

You're a complete failure

Too funny... Obama-stooge thinks other people are hypocrites.
You know, being a hypocrite is the first and foremost requirement of Obama-stoogedom.


Here's the deal... This disaster did NOT happen on Bush's watch. It happened on Obama's. And after all his rabid anti-Bush rhetoric, in the 16 months since he's taken office and despite the fact that he, himself, recently authorized off-shore drilling... he never bothered to check if his bureaucratic agencies were actually doing their jobs. It doesn't MATTER if there are regulations in place if those regulations are not enforced, and it's no longer G.W.'s job to enforce them. It's Obama's. Clearly, enforecement was lax as we see in the waiver to BP for an environmental impact study.

The irony is astounding. The government has not federalized the disaster response under the Oil Pollution Act. Besides, the MMS was supposed to be the watchdog, and they failed miserably. The MMS mission is to “manage the ocean energy and mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf and Federal and American Indian mineral revenues to enhance public and trust benefits, promote responsible use, and realize fair value.”

In fact, all offshore operations should have a Disaster Recovery Plan. The Plan should include, based on a criteria of conditions, the de-commissioning of operations and a contingency plan to minimize impacts and implement the recovery process. The MMS, the Department of Energy and relevant Gulf State authorities should have pre-defined and enforced the criterion and the Plan.

Bottom line, the corrupt MMS and other agencies did not ensure disaster planning was in place. Neither did Washington respond to offers by several nations to provide assistance in the recovery effort.

(more...)
Gulf Oil Spill: ?Government by Corruption and Exploitation?

So... there was no emergency response on stand-by, despite the fact that BP had already projected the path of a catastrophic oil spill would take and despite the fact that they had already admitted that no toxicity studies had been accomplished on the dispersant they planned to use in such an event.

BP's Spill Plan: What they knew and when they knew it

And then... when everything did go to pot, Obama KNEW that it was going to be bad. He was briefed back in April that "the blowout would likely lead to an unprecedented environmental disaster" and that he could "expect an oil spill that would continue until a relief well was drilled in August".
Hot Air Report: Obama knew from the beginning that oil leak would likely last months

Which doesn't explain why Bobby Jindal and the Gulf State governors have had to BEG for boom, skimmers, barges, and sand berms. It doesn't explain why the federal government would waste time making "studies" on dredging when they know full fucking well what the impact of crude oil in the marshes will be. It doesn't explain why every expert on the face of this planet isn't down in the Gulf lending a hand.
BP Oil Spill: Governor Bobby Jindal Says Louisiana Needs More Supplies - ABC News

You want to bring G.W. into this?... It's just too damn bad that G.W. isn't in charge of it. 'Cause it's hard to believe that with his oil background he wouldn't have IMMEDIATELY addressed the impending disaster. It's hard to believe that he'd have stood idly by while our Gulf State governors did without. Is it because they're Republicans that Obama didn't move on their requests? Is he THAT much of a black-hearted partisan? Or is it because he's USING this crisis in order to push for his Cap-and-Tax scam and needs a big enough disaster to sway public opinion? What the fuck should people think but "The Worst" when his actions thus far make no rational sense?

You want to defend the guy regardless of how crappy he is at his job. I get that. It's what Obots do. But you're wasting your time if you believe that the American people are so stupid that they can't see there were things that the Obama administration could have done differently and that they won't question why those things weren't done in a timely manner.

 

[Murf76]

Great post - the Obamapologists are backed into a corner and they know it.

This president sat back and shrugged for days and weeks as this disaster grew and spread.

9 days before federal aid equipment was approved.

A month before Louisiana was allowed to even begin to construct shoreline barriers to protect themselves.

SEVEN DAYS OF GOLF since the oil leak began.

______


You know, I had no illusions as to the level of competence we could expect from such an empty suit. I knew before he was elected that he'd be a crappy president and a partisan one. But I didn't think he was truly an evil man until earlier this week when he started flapping his gums about pushing our Republican senators toward Cap-and-Tax.

You can pass off mistakes on Occam's Razor... right up to the point where there's a big, juicy reward in the offing. The Cap-and-Tax scam is the money-making engine of Obama's entire Socialist agenda, an irresistible plum, ripe for the picking... IF public opinion can be swayed, like say... by a large environmental disaster.

Too much coincidence for me. The left was thoroughly enjoying the "spill, baby, spill" of it all, right up to the point where the public started wondering where their actual response was.

 

[LuckyDan]

My post was meant as a response to the "Blame Bush's MMS crowd that Obama had no time to fire" comments. If that agency is as devoid of ethics and competence as some have said, shouldn't it have been cleaned up? And wouldn't you expect BO and his czarina to be aware of what the MMS was up to? (Well, OK - with BO's inexperience, he might be forgiven for not even knowing there was an MMS.)

Umm, Presidents don't have a magic wand they can wave and make civil service employees disappear. There are laws about this, but hey, why bother learning about the law, right?

What advice was Browner giving him regarding the MMS? Any? I don't know. Maybe she decided on a hands-off approach, considering that, as agencies go, MMS was doing okay, being second only to the IRS in bringing in revenue.

You don't know, but that sure doesn't stop you from biasws speculation. The administration has forced some of bush appointees out and is working to oust the others. This has been reported in the news. You could Google it, but that would require some effort.

As condescending and full of yourself as you are, I'm guessing your face by now has a permanently fixed smirk.

President's can ask political appointees to resign. Civil servants can be reassigned. Agencies can be cleaned up one way or another and depending upon the provisions in the enacting legislation, some can indeed be fired by the Pres.

The Obama Administration's own appointee to direct MMS, Liz Birnbaum, may be an example, depending on who you talk to. Initial reportage indicated the WH fired her, but Salazar later said she resigned of her own volition. BO said of the matter, with characteristic aplomb, "Uhhh...I don't know."

Speaking of Birnbuam, how did she do in her brief term as Director?

Agency scientists and other employees complained that since taking the post in July, Ms. Birnbaum has done almost nothing to fix problems that have plagued the minerals agency for over a decade. She rarely visited the agency’s far-flung offices, so few staff members have ever seen her. The same agency managers who during the Bush administration ignored or suppressed scientists’ concerns about the safety and environmental risks of some off-shore drilling plans are still there doing the same things, they said.

Before she took the job at the minerals agency , Ms. Birnbaum, 52, had virtually no experience with the oil and gas industry, but that was seen as a plus, according to a top Interior Department official. She worked at the Interior Department in the last year two years of the Clinton administration on natural resource issues, leaving as an associate solicitor in 2001 to become a top lawyer and advocate for American Rivers, a conservation organization.

Crisis Places Focus on Beleaguered Agency?s Chief - NYTimes.com