The Retrocentric Response To Barack Obama’s Oval Office Speech - June 15th 2010
Eric Renderking Fisk - June 17th, 2010 
One of the things I was working on this week is a rant about the moment I think Barack Obama will lose the 2012 Presidential Campaign. As I was sitting at my desk I came up with a short list of why I think this administration is doomed and why he and Jimmy Carter will be remembered in the same category. Carter had a faltering economy and the hostage crisis in Iran, Obama has a faltering economy and the oil spill crisis in the gulf. Both of which seem unable to take control of the situation or delegate, both couldn’t rebound. At the present, it seems impossible for Mr. Obama to do so, it seems.
I would like to sympathize with Obama and remind people that unless Willie Ayers is into deep sea diving, there’s no way that this could be Obama’s fault. In fact, over on “Slate” there’s a brilliant article on who’s to blame for this fiasco which should be considered “must read” for anyone “blogging” about this accident. Yes – Obama’s on the list. “The Buck Stops Over There - Whom should we blame for the oil spill in the Gulf? Take your pick.” By Christopher Beam Posted Tuesday, May 25, 2010, at 6:58 PM ET”. This President isn’t to blame for the disaster, but many can agree that he’s not on his “A-Game” in managing the disaster. Some critics say he’s not taking charge or leading – he’s posturing and pointing fingers.
Tuesday night’s speech was supposed to be the “game changer,” going from "defense" to "offense." Mr. Obama spent a good deal of time assuring people that BP will pay dearly for this mistake, that there will be a trust fund to pay for the cleanup for this disaster, and that this is the perfect time for us to embrace Green Technology. He also talked about how we’re at war. This is like World War II. We’re going to have to fight this assault on nature like we did against fascism in Europe. If we are to survive, we have to mobilize and build the equivalent to the massive amounts of planes and ships to combat this crisis, and do so fast.
If that’s true, then like I said during one of my twitter updates – he needs to be a little more like FDR, and a little more like Truman. If we’re going to really solve this problem, then we’re going to let (or even make) companies work together to clean this up. That means that BP is going to have to allow companies like Shell and Exxon/Mobil to bring in their ships and use their tools to soak up the oil, then allow them to sell the oil they gather on the open market. That’s the price BP will have to pay, losing the revenue of that oil, and that’s to compensate the companies who are participating in the clean up.
That’s something that I wish President Obama said. I don’t believe he did.
As you’ve probably read and heard from other commentators that there weren’t a lot of specifics coming from The President. There weren’t a lot explanations about how we’re going to clean up the Gulf Of Mexico, just that it needs to get done and assurances that it will. Many of us talking about this speech kept asking: “Where’s the specifics.”
The significance of this speech occurred after the cameras in the oval office turned off. I continued to watch the coverage on MSNBC and was flabbergasted at the responses from Keith Obermann and Chris Mathews: MSNBC Trashes Obama's Address: Compared To Carter, "I Don't Sense Executive Command" JUNE 15, 2010. Regardless of Mr. Oberman’s backpedaling as reported by The Huffington Post via his own Twitter account – what Mr. Obermann and Mr. Mathews said right after the President's speech was correct... Which illistrates why more and more of his base are turning on Mr. Obama. Where's the substance and details besides the punitive punishment against BP and Big Oil?
Like a lot of people, I’m genuinely frightened by this disaster and I have deep concerns about what the long term consequences will be. Not just to the economy which seems insignificant when looking at the long term implications to all life in The Gulf Of Mexico, The East Coast, and perhaps all life in the Atlantic Ocean then finally the rest of the planet if this leak is not stopped. From the speech the current President gave the other night, I don’t think he’s one of us. I don’t think he’s genuinely empathic to our fears, and how this ecological nightmare coming true is not the time for his administration to be opportunistic. Regardless of how sincere his Chief of Staff is, Rahm Emanuel is wrong about “You Never Want To Let A Serious Crisis Go To Waste.” Fix the hole in the bottom of the gulf, clean up the spill, then maybe we’ll talk about moving forward with your progressive agenda.
Links
BP is Not the Only Responsible Party,” By Brian J. Donovan
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May 24, 2010
Rolling Stone: “The Spill, The Scandal
and the President: The inside story of how Obama
failed to crack down on the corruption of the Bush years – and let the world's
most dangerous oil company get away with murder…”
By Tim Dickinson | Jun 08, 2010 4:30 PM EDT
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Wall Street Journal: "How Far Will the Gulf Gusher Spread? Trapped in water pockets, the oil from Deepwater Horizon will ride the Gulf Stream across the Atlantic. In years to come, some will even wash up on European shores." JUNE 3, 2010
