— Edmund Burke
As I listen, watch and read the news, the reports keep getting worse, the images more dire of the oil spill on the Gulf Coast. There is a 24 hour live video feed of oil gushing out of the ocean floor, and stills and video of globs and layers of oil in the water, on the water, on sand and marsh and plants and animals.
And now the reports say the giant hole American greed bored into the very Earth may not be closed until December. Five months after all Hell busted loose.
People are angry, and they should be. They are angry at British Petroleum for not taking the proper precautions, they are angry at Halburton because they sold inferior cement to build the rig, they are angry at Transocean for failure to be ensure there were procedures and equipment in place that would deal with a chain event of failures such as those that took place.
The American public is somewhat angry at themselves for demanding so much energy that we literally blew open the Earth to get it, they are angry at he government for allowing a mismanaged, irresponsible and ineffective agency to surf pornographic websites while huge corporations took advantage of their incompetence and inattention, finding dodges and loopholes in order to avoid adhering to the regulations put into place to avoid a catastrophe. They are angry at the people who told the country to “drill baby drill” because oil rig failures are unheard of in the 21st century.
They are angry at Barack Obama because he's not been down there as much as he should have been, because if he had been, . . . what?
He would grab a soda straw and divert the oil into a tanker? He would raise his arms and part the crude ala Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments? All those families whose livelihoods depend on the Gulf would suddenly have their lives restored? He could direct singing birds and fauna to clean up this mess like a Disney character singing in the forest?
Give me a break, and give the President one too.
One website went so far as to post a picture of Obama next to one of Barney Fife, the inept buffoon with a heart of gold who was the face of law enforcement in the fictional town of Mayberry. Really? Seriously? Barney Fife?
The political pundits are fuming because, while he has talked and explained and answered questions about the spill and the government's response, and while he has been to the Gulf, he hasn't been physically in the disaster area enough. Apparently the answer to the problem is to move the seat of the federal government, at least the executive branch, to Louisiana so as to comfort the residents of the Gulf.
Phrases that have been used include “wrapping his arms around the country”, “mayor of the country” and “optics of politics.”
Wrapping his arms around the country? These commentators want a warm fuzzy president, or maybe an oil absorbent Snuggie. These are the same people who loved Obama's analytical mindset, who touted his problem solving tactics, who admired his ability to look at a situation calmly and formulate and execute a plan. They pointed out that the American public, in a poll, said they would like to have a beer with George W. Bush, but didn't trust him to run the country.
The use of the word optics hits the nail on the head. They realize there is nothing to be gained by President Obama going to the Gulf, but it would look good. Appearances mean more than accomplishment. Style over substance.
Of course, if he had camped out on the beaches, it would have given the press fuel for a different fire over which to roast Obama; they could discuss at length how he was ignoring all the other issues currently demanding his attention: the situation with North and South Korea (gee, what could happen, a war break out?), the Israeli attack on a ship bringing relief to the Gaza Strip (that'll be alright, those people get along beautifully), immigration reform, financial reform, the Prime Minister of Japan resigning due to issues with the American military base in Okinawa.
He is not a mayor, this is not Mayberry. This is the United States, running the country is kind of a big deal. The problems don't come one at a time in an orderly fashion. The Head of State is also the Commander in Chief, the Chief Executive, the go-to guy for everyone and everything. As Truman said, the buck stops with him.
Yet, what he does is not enough, except when its too much. Too much regulation, too much money, too much government. Too much Obama the socialist, trying to hold the hand of the country, taking care of people to the point of handicapping them and capitalism.
Putting out fires is one of the many jobs the POTUS has thrust upon him, regardless of who set the fires or whether he has any expertise in the type of firefighting needed. So cut him some slack in that hose, he tried to tell you he didn’t walk on water.
He can’t clean it either.
The root cause of the problem is, why was BP, and for that matter any oil company, that far out in the ocean trying to drill for oil in the first place? WHO forced them out there? The radical, anti-American green movement and their sympathizers in the Congress, that's who.
What does our economy run on (oil) and do you have a viable substitute available by tomorrow? Same with coal. Do you call people using oil and driving to work "greed?" Did you drive or bicycle to work today? You do know that cars run on oil? The trains behind your building do too, so do the coal trucks.
Finally, Obama said during the 2008 campaign that when America elected him it would be the moment "the earth began to heal, and the sea levels fall." He made his bed, let him sleep in it, and yes, I am still waiting for Moses Obama to part the waters.