So what should Obama have done?

[antagon]

Why hasn't Obama called for the suspension of the Jones Act which keeps some of the best and most modern and advanced foreign owned ships from helping in the Gulf?

Some of these countries say they have offered to help by bringing their ships to the Gulf to collect oil from the waters there..... but cannot help out.

The president could do this with an Executive Order....

Really makes you wonder (The unions are opposed; they really love the Jones Act).

Within days of the oil spill, several European nations and thirteen countries in total apparently offered the Obama administration ships to assist in the clean-up of the Gulf. When asked about this, a State Department press spokesman refused to identify any offers of assistance.

According to one newspaper, European firms could complete the task in four months, rather than an estimated nine months if done only by the U.S. Working with the U.S., the cleanup could be accomplished in three months. The Belgian firm DEME contends it can clean up the oil with accuracy at a depth of 2,000 meters. Another European firm with capabilities is the Belgian firm Jan De Nul Group. There are also Dutch companies with similar special equipment capable of accelerating cleaning-up the Gulf. The Belgians and the Dutch are also long time NATO allies and as such partners in international security cooperation.

According to the article, no U.S. companies have the ships which can accomplish this task is because those ships would cost twice as much to build in the U.S. as they do outside the country. This is one adverse impact of the Jones Act, which Congress passed in 1920s. This piece of protectionism has only hampered an anemic American maritime industry. It also has prevented a quicker response to the oil spill. European firms do have the expertise to clean up the spill.

To Save the Gulf, Send the Jones Act to Davy Jones’ Locker

makes you wonder (the heritage foundation is opposed to the act; they hate the jones act)

the fact of the matter is that the jones act has little or nothing to do with cleaning up the oil spill and that international boats have been involved from the inception. the jones act relegates port to port shipping to american fleets.

 

[antagon]

Detonation would seal it. Might have to be a nuclear detonation, but the loss of marine life would be no worse than what we're going to have to endure anyway.

I would have ordered the Navy in there about week 2 and sealed it off for good, but then again, I don't have a standing tee time with my buddies either..

This was the first thing I thought about a week into the spill: Nuc it.

i think the baseless advise of 2 internet guys is exactly the course of action that we should take. nevermind anyone's educated opinions; nuke the ***** out of the clear blue.

 

[American Horse]

Why hasn't Obama called for the suspension of the Jones Act which keeps some of the best and most modern and advanced foreign owned ships from helping in the Gulf?
<SNIP>

Some of these countries say they have offered to help by bringing their ships to the Gulf to collect oil from the waters there..... but cannot help out.

makes you wonder (the heritage foundation is opposed to the act; they hate the jones act)

the fact of the matter is that the jones act has little or nothing to do with cleaning up the oil spill and that international boats have been involved from the inception. the jones act relegates port to port shipping to american fleets.

" Some of the best clean up ships &#8211; owned by Belgian, Dutch and the Norwegian firms are NOT being used. Coast Guard Lt. Commander, Chris O&#8217;Neil, says that is because they do not meet &#8220;the operational requirements of the Unified Area Command.&#8221; One of those operational requirements is that vessels comply with the Jones Act.
"Yes, it does apply,&#8221; said ONeil,&#8220; I have heard no discussions of waivers.&#8221;

Waivers to the Jones Act were granted by the administration of George W. Bush in the days following hurricane Katrina. And today, the Obama White House said waivers might again be considered.
&#8220;If there is the need for any type of waiver, that would obviously be granted,&#8221; said White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs. &#8220;But, we've not had that problem thus far.&#8221;

Democratic Senator Bill Nelson is not so sure about that. He&#8217;s hearing from the folks back home in Florida, where they want all the skimmer ships they can get. He sent a letter to Admiral Thad Allen today which read in part:
&#8220;Admiral, I believe the orange mousse of oil that is now in Florida&#8217;s waters is more than enough evidence that we need to take advantage of every appropriate global resource. Please advise as to whether we are taking full advantage of the offers of assistance from other countries.&#8221;

When asked about this by Fox News, Admiral Allen said, &#8220;If it gets to the point where a Jones Act waiver is required, we're willing to do that too. Nobody has come to me with a request for a Jones Act waiver.&#8221;
After 50 plus days of oil flowing freely into the gulf, the question could be asked: Why do effective and proven foreign clean up ships remain on the sidelines? Carafano believes it may have something to do with the Obama administration&#8217;s close relationship with labor unions.

&#8220;Cause this is a big thing for unions,&#8221; Carafano said. &#8220;The unions see it as &#8230; protecting jobs. They hate when the Jones Act gets waived, and they pound on politicians when they do that. So &#8230; are we giving in to unions and not doing everything we can, or is there some kind of impediment that we don't know about?

If the Obama Administration needs an example of what can happen when global assets are allowed to tackle a massive oil spill, they need look no further than Saudi Aramco&#8217;s clean up of a massive wartime spill off the Kuwaiti coast in 1991. Aramco summoned every available ship to assist in the cleanup. The company claims it recovered 900,000 barrels of oil in roughly three months. The industry views that effort as the gold standard in oil spill cleanups."

Jones Act Slowing Oil Spill Cleanup? Liveshots


Questions: Why hasn't the president put a single person in charge of coordinating the entire effort?
Why hasn't the president even talked to the Chief Operating Officer of BP, while at this late date he is going to sit down with the board of directors?
Why does the administration make threatening gestures to BP like threatening to bring criminal charges, and demanding suspension of dividends to shareholders which drives down the share price and the efficacy of the corporation?
Don't they realize that if they drive BP to bankruptcy that the taxpayers will have to make up any financial shortfall?

Everything the Administration does seems to be political (Unions?) and an "ad hoc" response rather than being coherent and organized around what they can actually accomplish immediately to help the Gulf region. The Bush administration would've had a cogent and organized approach, at least talking to people who understand oil technology. Wouldn't that have given us a foot up? These deficiencies and mis-directed efforts are reflected in why people in the Gulf give the president a "D" so far in HIS performance. They seem to understand that suspending deep drilling operations hurts them a lot more than it helps.

The president should make himself available to a press conference right now and take questions we all want the answers to.

 

[rdean]

Obama should have doe whatever he could to plug the ******* leak.

Instead he did nothing.

Another fact free post from wingnut who has NO IDEA what Obama could have done.

I predicted the wingnuts would have no realistic ideas, and I was right so far

Well of course not. Only 6% of scientists are Republican. They have no clue and no education. The only thing they know for sure is that Obama is "black" and living in the "White" House.

Seriously, you want to ask "these" people for "ideas"?

 

[Lonestar_logic]

A better question is what should have Obama NOT done.

Day 4: head off on vacation.

Day 5: Go golfing.

Day 7: Host NY Yankees for Whitehouse event.

Day 9: Fly to Missouri for lunch at Peggy Sue's Diner.

Day 10: Attend DNC fundraiser at swank DC residence.

DAY 12 : Joins Leno for comedy routine at WHCD.

For the remainder of the list of the many events, concerts and fancy dining click here.

 

[American Horse]

<SNIP>
Questions: Why hasn't the president put a single person in charge of coordinating the entire effort?
Why hasn't the president even talked to the Chief Operating Officer of BP, while at this late date he is going to sit down with the board of directors?
Why does the administration make threatening gestures to BP like threatening to bring criminal charges, and demanding suspension of dividends to shareholders which drives down the share price and the efficacy of the corporation?
Don't they realize that if they drive BP to bankruptcy that the taxpayers will have to make up any financial shortfall?

Everything the Administration does seems to be political (Unions?) and an "ad hoc" response rather than being coherent and organized around what they can actually accomplish immediately to help the Gulf region. The Bush administration would've had a cogent and organized approach, at least talking to people who understand oil technology. Wouldn't that have given us a foot up? These deficiencies and mis-directed efforts are reflected in why people in the Gulf give the president a "D" so far in HIS performance. They seem to understand that suspending deep drilling operations hurts them a lot more than it helps.

The president should make himself available to a press conference right now and take questions we all want the answers to.

To continue with this theme...
We need answers:

Why did the president take 12 days before a Cabinet Level Official visited the Gulf?

What's going on with doctoring a signed document from the Academy of Engineers after they signed it, distorting their intent on the desirability of shutting down deep wells in the Gulf?


The seven experts who advised President Obama on how to deal with offshore drilling safety after the Deepwater Horizon explosion are accusing Obama administration of misrepresenting their views to make it appear that they supported a six-month drilling moratorium -- something they actually oppose.

The experts, recommended by the National Academy of Engineering, say Interior Secretary Ken Salazar modified their report last month, after they signed it, to include two paragraphs calling for the moratorium on existing drilling and new permits.

Salazar's report to Obama said a panel of seven experts "peer reviewed" his recommendations, which included a six-month moratorium on permits for new wells being drilled using floating rigs and an immediate halt to drilling operations.

"None of us actually reviewed the memorandum as it is in the report," oil expert Ken Arnold told Fox News. "What was in the report at the time it was reviewed was quite a bit different in its impact to what there is now. So we wanted to distance ourselves from that recommendation."
(Salazar apologized to the experts Thursday)



On the subject of shutting down deep wells in operation in the Gulf: Scientists and engineers say shutting down these wells is far more dangerous than allowing them to continue in operation. It&#8217;s a lot like interrupting surgery; things can go wrong, the risks are multiplied.

Instead, it seems to me, the prudent course of action would&#8217;ve been to simply review the records of each and every Gulf deep well, and to have acted according to any revelations from those records and existing conditions.

 

[rdean]

<SNIP>
Questions: Why hasn't the president put a single person in charge of coordinating the entire effort?
Why hasn't the president even talked to the Chief Operating Officer of BP, while at this late date he is going to sit down with the board of directors?
Why does the administration make threatening gestures to BP like threatening to bring criminal charges, and demanding suspension of dividends to shareholders which drives down the share price and the efficacy of the corporation?
Don't they realize that if they drive BP to bankruptcy that the taxpayers will have to make up any financial shortfall?

Everything the Administration does seems to be political (Unions?) and an "ad hoc" response rather than being coherent and organized around what they can actually accomplish immediately to help the Gulf region. The Bush administration would've had a cogent and organized approach, at least talking to people who understand oil technology. Wouldn't that have given us a foot up? These deficiencies and mis-directed efforts are reflected in why people in the Gulf give the president a "D" so far in HIS performance. They seem to understand that suspending deep drilling operations hurts them a lot more than it helps.

The president should make himself available to a press conference right now and take questions we all want the answers to.

To continue with this theme...
We need answers:

Why did the president take 12 days before a Cabinet Level Official visited the Gulf?

What's going on with doctoring a signed document from the Academy of Engineers after they signed it, distorting their intent on the desirability of shutting down deep wells in the Gulf?


The seven experts who advised President Obama on how to deal with offshore drilling safety after the Deepwater Horizon explosion are accusing Obama administration of misrepresenting their views to make it appear that they supported a six-month drilling moratorium -- something they actually oppose.

The experts, recommended by the National Academy of Engineering, say Interior Secretary Ken Salazar modified their report last month, after they signed it, to include two paragraphs calling for the moratorium on existing drilling and new permits.

Salazar's report to Obama said a panel of seven experts "peer reviewed" his recommendations, which included a six-month moratorium on permits for new wells being drilled using floating rigs and an immediate halt to drilling operations.

"None of us actually reviewed the memorandum as it is in the report," oil expert Ken Arnold told Fox News. "What was in the report at the time it was reviewed was quite a bit different in its impact to what there is now. So we wanted to distance ourselves from that recommendation."
(Salazar apologized to the experts Thursday)



On the subject of shutting down deep wells in operation in the Gulf: Scientists and engineers say shutting down these wells is far more dangerous than allowing them to continue in operation. It’s a lot like interrupting surgery; things can go wrong, the risks are multiplied.

Instead, it seems to me, the prudent course of action would’ve been to simply review the records of each and every Gulf deep well, and to have acted according to any revelations from those records and existing conditions.

Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen was there since day one. Are you saying he is as incompetent as "horse show judge" Brownie?

 

[American Horse]

<SNIP>


On the subject of shutting down deep wells in operation in the Gulf: Scientists and engineers say shutting down these wells is far more dangerous than allowing them to continue in operation. It&#8217;s a lot like interrupting surgery; things can go wrong, the risks are multiplied.

Instead, it seems to me, the prudent course of action would&#8217;ve been to simply review the records of each and every Gulf deep well, and to have acted according to any revelations from those records and existing conditions.

Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen was there since day one. Are you saying he is as incompetent as "horse show judge" Brownie?

He's a Coast Guard Admiral and admininstrator. From watching his briefings, it apears he could use some help, If there were a higher level coordinator the effort wouldn't seem so chaotic, incoherent, and incomplete.

 

[antagon]

Why hasn't Obama called for the suspension of the Jones Act which keeps some of the best and most modern and advanced foreign owned ships from helping in the Gulf?
<SNIP>

Some of these countries say they have offered to help by bringing their ships to the Gulf to collect oil from the waters there..... but cannot help out.

makes you wonder (the heritage foundation is opposed to the act; they hate the jones act)

the fact of the matter is that the jones act has little or nothing to do with cleaning up the oil spill and that international boats have been involved from the inception. the jones act relegates port to port shipping to american fleets.

" Some of the best clean up ships – owned by Belgian, Dutch and the Norwegian firms are NOT being used. Coast Guard Lt. Commander, Chris O’Neil, says that is because they do not meet “the operational requirements of the Unified Area Command.” One of those operational requirements is that vessels comply with the Jones Act.
"Yes, it does apply,” said ONeil,“ I have heard no discussions of waivers.”

Waivers to the Jones Act were granted by the administration of George W. Bush in the days following hurricane Katrina. And today, the Obama White House said waivers might again be considered.
“If there is the need for any type of waiver, that would obviously be granted,” said White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs. “But, we've not had that problem thus far.”

Democratic Senator Bill Nelson is not so sure about that. He’s hearing from the folks back home in Florida, where they want all the skimmer ships they can get. He sent a letter to Admiral Thad Allen today which read in part:
“Admiral, I believe the orange mousse of oil that is now in Florida’s waters is more than enough evidence that we need to take advantage of every appropriate global resource. Please advise as to whether we are taking full advantage of the offers of assistance from other countries.”

When asked about this by Fox News, Admiral Allen said, “If it gets to the point where a Jones Act waiver is required, we're willing to do that too. Nobody has come to me with a request for a Jones Act waiver.”
After 50 plus days of oil flowing freely into the gulf, the question could be asked: Why do effective and proven foreign clean up ships remain on the sidelines? Carafano believes it may have something to do with the Obama administration’s close relationship with labor unions.

“Cause this is a big thing for unions,” Carafano said. “The unions see it as … protecting jobs. They hate when the Jones Act gets waived, and they pound on politicians when they do that. So … are we giving in to unions and not doing everything we can, or is there some kind of impediment that we don't know about?

If the Obama Administration needs an example of what can happen when global assets are allowed to tackle a massive oil spill, they need look no further than Saudi Aramco’s clean up of a massive wartime spill off the Kuwaiti coast in 1991. Aramco summoned every available ship to assist in the cleanup. The company claims it recovered 900,000 barrels of oil in roughly three months. The industry views that effort as the gold standard in oil spill cleanups."

Jones Act Slowing Oil Spill Cleanup? Liveshots


Questions: Why hasn't the president put a single person in charge of coordinating the entire effort?
Why hasn't the president even talked to the Chief Operating Officer of BP, while at this late date he is going to sit down with the board of directors?
Why does the administration make threatening gestures to BP like threatening to bring criminal charges, and demanding suspension of dividends to shareholders which drives down the share price and the efficacy of the corporation?
Don't they realize that if they drive BP to bankruptcy that the taxpayers will have to make up any financial shortfall?

Everything the Administration does seems to be political (Unions?) and an "ad hoc" response rather than being coherent and organized around what they can actually accomplish immediately to help the Gulf region. The Bush administration would've had a cogent and organized approach, at least talking to people who understand oil technology. Wouldn't that have given us a foot up? These deficiencies and mis-directed efforts are reflected in why people in the Gulf give the president a "D" so far in HIS performance. They seem to understand that suspending deep drilling operations hurts them a lot more than it helps.

The president should make himself available to a press conference right now and take questions we all want the answers to.

norwegian vessels Boa Sub C, Ocean Intervention III and Skandi Neptune have been working with BP as early as april 20. these are among many foreign vessels operating in aid of this issue. the Deep Sea Horizon is a foreign vessel operating in US waters. it is flagged marianas or something. the jones act is a regulation regarding US port -to- US port shipment of goods. that has nothing to do with who BP has contracted to help them with their mess.

foreign vessels constitute the majority of ships working in the offshore oil industry in the gulf.

 

[boedicca]

Heh. Perhaps Obama should have treated the oil spill like his campaign.

It's not mentioned much now, but in the late summer of 2008, a major hurricane, Gustav, was in the Gulf of Mexico and headed toward New Orleans, threatening a replay of the disastrous Katrina experience. On September 1, 2008, Barack Obama, fresh from his Roman-colonnade speech on the final night of the Democratic convention in Denver, talked to CNN's Anderson Cooper about Gustav and the Gulf. The question: As president, could he handle an emergency like that? Obama pointed to the size of his campaign and its multi-million dollar budget as evidence of his executive abilities. "Our ability to manage large systems and to execute, I think, has been made clear over the last couple of years," Obama said. That executive ability, he added, "indicates the degree to which we can provide the kinds of support and good service that the American people expect."

Notable & Quotable - WSJ.com


On second thought. Scratch that. He is handling the oil spill like a campaign. That's the problem.

 

[Immanuel]

Obama should have doe whatever he could to plug the ******* leak.

Instead he did nothing.

Another fact free post from wingnut who has NO IDEA what Obama could have done.

I predicted the wingnuts would have no realistic ideas, and I was right so far

Well of course not. Only 6% of scientists are Republican. They have no clue and no education. The only thing they know for sure is that Obama is "black" and living in the "White" House.

Seriously, you want to ask "these" people for "ideas"?

That only leads to, "What ideas has your side provided?" and if you have any brilliant ideas then why the heck is there still oil gushing out of the floor of the Gulf of Mexico?

Immie

 

[American Horse]

Jones Act Slowing Oil Spill Cleanup? Liveshots

norwegian vessels Boa Sub C, Ocean Intervention III and Skandi Neptune have been working with BP as early as april 20. these are among many foreign vessels operating in aid of this issue. the Deep Sea Horizon is a foreign vessel operating in US waters. it is flagged marianas or something. the jones act is a regulation regarding US port -to- US port shipment of goods. that has nothing to do with who BP has contracted to help them with their mess.

foreign vessels constitute the majority of ships working in the offshore oil industry in the Gulf.

Apparently we are at cross issues here. Referring back to my post #283 above, Coast Guard Lt. Commander Chris O&#8217;Neil, says that the Jones Act does apply (How in this case we aren't sure) "they (foreign shipping) do not meet the operational requirements of the Unified Area Command.,&#8221; one of those operational requirements is that vessels comply with the Act. He said: "Yes, it does apply [and] I have heard no discussions of waivers.&#8221;

The Obama White House (spokesman) said waivers might again be considered.
&#8220;But, we've not had that problem thus far.&#8221; &#8220;If there is the need for any type of waiver, that would obviously be granted&#8221;

I have found no further text on how O'Neil believes it does apply, But Democratic Senator Bill Nelson is concerned enough about the Act obstructing foreign ships and assets to not be sure about it. That's why he sent a letter to Admiral Thad Allen on the subject of the Jones Act which read in part: &#8220;Admiral, I believe.... we need to take advantage of every appropriate global resource. Please advise as to whether we are taking full advantage of the offers of assistance from other countries.&#8221;

When asked about this by Fox News, Admiral Allen said, &#8220;If it gets to the point where a Jones Act waiver is required, we're willing to do that too. Nobody has come to me with a request for a Jones Act waiver.&#8221;

So are some or many owners of foreign ships confused? Are they concerned they will need port accesses to dispose of materials that would be in violation of the Jones Act?

Are they sufficiently disturbed by the President's rhetoric vis-a-vis BP, that they want to be sure all legal impairments to their helping are removed before they pitch in?

What would be wrong with the President simply issuing an Executive Order suspending the Jones Act for all related activities in the Gulf?

I remember President Bush suspending certain applicable laws (I don't remember which; EPA?) during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which at the time seemed to make sense, because they would've hampered the essential conduct of deployed resources and their activities.

BTW where is the head of FEMA these days? Havent heard a word from him.

 

[antagon]

FEMA dude has got to be a suicidal wreck.

i'm not too clear about all the implications of the act, but i know that the cranework, undersea photography and some of the pumping and drilling is being conducted by the three boats i had mentioned. i know Skandi Neptune is responsible for a lot of that oil bellowing on the ocean floor video. calls to port will likely be made by barges. maybe these must be of US construction and crew, dunno.

i know that with the southern merchant fleet impacted, waivers were sought after katrina. our maritime industry simply doesnt put out the sort of workboats and rigs norway and korea put out. we either have to consider heavily subsidizing our yards like these countries do, or reconsidering the jones.

the national security implications of the act are quite important in today's climate.

 

[American Horse]

Just seen on FNC - Florida congressman says administration not communicating within the command effort; Oil could be skimmed up as it approaches the shore 4-or-5 miles out, and no skimmers are in area to stop it. Oil stains are now being left behind by each wave that reaches shore in Florida Keys ...

C-Span Video - Mississippi 4th district Congressman Gene Taylor says there is poor communications/coordination between air and sea assets in Gulf, as he has 3 or 4 times seen air observers over football sized oil patches while skimmer vessels are seen heading away ...

antagon: FEMA dude has got to be a suicidal wreck

His role ought to be more involved than it is at the present. His total absence contributes to the Administrations problems in this debacle

 

[boedicca]

And: Why the delay in issuing EPA permits to dredge and build berms? Where are the booms to contain the oil and prevent it from reaching the coasts and marshes?

 

[Immanuel]

And: Why the delay in issuing EPA permits to dredge and build berms? Where are the booms to contain the oil and prevent it from reaching the coasts and marshes?

Do you really think anything would have been different if John McCain were President?

I honestly do not.

In other words, don't blame Obama for the inaction, blame the system.

Immie

 

[American Horse]

And: Why the delay in issuing EPA permits to dredge and build berms? Where are the booms to contain the oil and prevent it from reaching the coasts and marshes?

Do you really think anything would have been different if John McCain were President?

I honestly do not.

In other words, don't blame Obama for the inaction, blame the system.

Immie

Immie, you honestly don't believe that a man 70 years of age with naval and aeronatics experience, and 30 years in congress and the senate would have the same limitations as a junior senator with 2 years in that body, and whose prior experience was a state senator who voted "present" as often as yea or nay?

 

[boedicca]

And: Why the delay in issuing EPA permits to dredge and build berms? Where are the booms to contain the oil and prevent it from reaching the coasts and marshes?

Do you really think anything would have been different if John McCain were President?

I honestly do not.

In other words, don't blame Obama for the inaction, blame the system.

Immie

That's b'loney.

I don't recall saying McCain would do better, but it's quite likely he would have handled crisis management in a much more expeditious fashion. The system doesn't have to work on autopilot.

 

[sarahgop]

obama cares more about union goon bags than the environment.

 

[Immanuel]

And: Why the delay in issuing EPA permits to dredge and build berms? Where are the booms to contain the oil and prevent it from reaching the coasts and marshes?

Do you really think anything would have been different if John McCain were President?

I honestly do not.

In other words, don't blame Obama for the inaction, blame the system.

Immie

Immie, you honestly don't believe that a man 70 years of age with naval and aeronatics experience, and 30 years in congress and the senate would have the same limitations as a junior senator with 2 years in that body, and whose prior experience was a state senator who voted "present" as often as yea or nay?

And: Why the delay in issuing EPA permits to dredge and build berms? Where are the booms to contain the oil and prevent it from reaching the coasts and marshes?

Do you really think anything would have been different if John McCain were President?

I honestly do not.

In other words, don't blame Obama for the inaction, blame the system.

Immie

That's b'loney.

I don't recall saying McCain would do better, but it's quite likely he would have handled crisis management in a much more expeditious fashion. The system doesn't have to work on autopilot.

Okay, you two, I think you both need to go back and read what I wrote.

The important part, as far as I am concerned is "blame the system".

The system is at fault much more than President Obama is. The red tape is the issue. Convincing those who care about their cut out of the pie to get the F' out of the way is the issue.

A.H.,

I respect the fact that John McCain served this country as a soldier. He is in my opinion a heroic soldier who suffered dearly for his country. I respect that and I honor him for that. I do not by any stretch of the imagination believe that being a heroic soldier translates into being a great (or even a good) politician.

When it comes to politics, I believe John McCain is a miserable failure. I don't believe that takes away from his accomplishments as a hero and a soldier.

Yes, I do believe he would suffer from the same limitations as President Obama. Blame the system not the President.

Boedicca,

You did not say McCain would have done a better job. However, your statements have been that the slowness of the governmental response lies solely upon the shoulders of the President of the United States of America; therefore, I asked you if you honestly believe John McCain would have done a better job. I could have asked you if you thought Bush would have done better, but then it would have sounded like "BUUUUUSSSSSSHHHHHHH" and that was not the point I was trying to make. The liberal claim that Bush screwed up the Katrina response is as ridiculous as blaming President Obama for not stopping the oil leak 48 days ago.

As far as I am concerned the response to this catastrophe has been a miserable failure and I'm sure that technically speaking, the buck should land squarely on the desk inside the Oval Office. However, I question whether or not anyone else could have done a better job. Blame the system.

Immie