If I were Chief of Staff, I'd recommend no state dinners, PR events & move WH to the gulf

[mod mom]

1st off I worked hard to get Obama elected both in the primary & the general so don't read this as a slam on the president. Sure the Obama Administration is handling this better than would the previous pResident. That said, I EXPECT more from this administration regarding the handling of the EPIC DISASTER in the gulf! I don't believe he is getting good advice. I was horrified that some would think it was okay to keep a state dinner on the schedule when this major catastrophe is ongoing and no solution to end it in the near future. Even after they stop it, the clean up alone will be a major effort. I'm disappointed to say the least in the handling of this.

As a major supporter, a mother and someone who gives a fuck about the environment and this planet, I would suggest the following:

1. Move WH operations that concern this disaster, including the President himself out of DC and down to the coast to show the people you are focused on the severity.

2. Don't rely on oil insiders to handle the solution, remember it was their profit motive that got us into this mess. They are too focused on PR and (still) profitability to see clear in handling.

3. NO MORE toxic chemicals as part of the solution. If it's bad enough to be banned in other countries, it's addition is only making the problem worse.

4. Make sure the coast guard understands they protect the American people and are there to protect the coastlines and NOT to serve industry contractors.

I hope the President understands that his base is better informed than the average person. We care more about the environment than the average person. We care more about protecting the planet for future generations than in protecting profitability for the assholes whose greed got us in this mess in the first place. I am really disheartened by this administration's response. I expect more. Reading the comments of close friends, who like me, are well informed, others are greatly disappointed as well.

TRANSPARENCY. ACTION & INNOVATION are needed now!

:rant:

[gateley]

1. I've no doubt I'd rather see you as Chief of Staff than Rahm! I like your suggestions. nt

[Poll_Blind]

2. I think it's at least worth a 5-10 minute televised live address every week giving updates.

More would be good, but just that would be very nice.

PB

[EFerrari]

17. For a bunch of really smart people, they seem to have hard time

maintaining good communication with the public.

Even if they don't want to ruin the tourist season for the Gulf, this is important enough to do daily 2 minute briefings. In the absence, they look unconcerned and people fill in the blank with their worries, imo.

[mod mom]

23. This is why I think it would behoove them to get out of DC. They get in this bubble and lose touch.

If they were down there they would be forced to focus on a solution.

[laughingliberal]

3. K & R nt

[MineralMan]

4. I think that would be more symbolic than helpful, frankly.

Neither the President nor his staff can actually DO anything about the spill. The government has no technology nor equipment which can stop this leak. The only people who do are in the oil industry, and it looks like they're working on it...rather unsuccessfully, but they're trying to fix it.

Do you have a concrete idea about how to stop the leak that's spewing? I don't. Do you have an idea about how to deal with the millions of gallons of oil already in the water? I don't. I doubt that President Obama and his staff are equally unable to fix this themselves.

The bottom line is that only the oil industry has any expertise in this, and it's to their benefit to stop the problem as quickly as they possibly can.

In the meantime, the President has more than just this issue on the table.

So, "moving the White House" would do nothing concrete. It would only be symbolic, and symbolism has little effect on oil gushing out of the bottom of the gulf.

[ljm2002]

5. A lot of what a President does is symbolic...

...I think we all understand that the President cannot just roll up his sleeves and make the gusher stop. We get that.

What he can do is put a laser focus on the problem and make sure that everything that is humanly possible to do, is being done. He can gather the best and the brightest, it is within his power to do that. He can take control from BP, and in particular he can inform the Coast Guard that they are not BP's lackeys anymore and that anyone in the CG who is caught enforcing "BP's rules" will be dealt with severely.

Just for starters.

At the very least, a daily update from the President would be very welcome. With a weekly in-depth update. This would show that he recognizes the gravity of the situation. Which is not apparent right now IMO.

I'm sure he is embarrassed about his pro-drilling statement that occurred a few days before this disaster. That is no excuse for not doing the required 180 and getting with the program here.

This is becoming an epic failure for the environment. Politically speaking, it has all the earmarks of an epic failure in that area as well. Those of us who are paying attention -- and that includes a lot more people than those who read DU -- are getting pissed. Where is he going to find political cover as the oil reaches the shores, and people everywhere begin to realize that everything that could be done, was not done?

Where is that "white hot anger" we keep hearing about, that President Obama supposedly is displaying behind the scenes? Come out, come out, wherever you are. Put that white hot anger on display, and direct it at the perpetrators, and get something fucking done.

[BeFree]

6. Pifft

You have more trust in BP than I do.

We have the Navy. They do underwater demo and salvage ops all the time.
Does the Navy call BP when a sub gets damaged? No.

Frankly, the symbolism shown by Obama so far is: Trust BP.
And isn't that what you are doing here?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

9. There's a big difference between underwater demo and salvage and this.

"Does the Navy call BP when a sub gets damaged? No."

Right. When a sub sinks you call in engineers that specialize in salvaging subs.

And when you've got a bust riser you call in engineers that specialize in drilling.

[mod mom]

11. We need engineers w/o a vested interest. Obviously the industry "experts" weren't prepared

for this. It's past time for creative thinkers, who are free of profit motive to get involved.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

13. Mod mom, BP engineers have a vested interest in stopping the flow.

[mod mom]

16. I believe if they had to choose a solution that could stop it permanently now or wait until a

solution that could salvage some of the oil, they would choose the latter. Seriously.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. Right, but those aren't the options.

If they want to salvage oil, their best bet is to stop the flow.

Think about it for a minute.

[mod mom]

22. there might be a solution that would seal the site forever. I think they would wait

for salvaging. You have much more confidence in these greedy bastards than I do. They never should have been allowed to drill at depths they couldn't control. They never should have cut corners for profitability:


"The Deepwater rig lacked a remote-control shut-off switch, a back-up system that would close the well even if the rig above was destroyed.-snip The oil companies complained that the $500,000 devices were too expensive. Keep in mind the Deepwater was a $560 million rig. Countries like Norway and Brazil require these precautions to avert catastrophe, but in the US the technology is voluntary. This is thanks to a 2003 decision by the Bush administration's Minerals Management Service (MMS)"


http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/05/bp-getting-heat-gulf-disaster

[MineralMan]

29. It's in BP's interest to get this done as quickly as possible.

I can't imagine how it could be in their interest to do anything else. It's a public relations disaster for them, as well as a total loss of this oil, which was the reason they drilled in the first place. BP is a collective idiot for not using every possible safety device, but that was then. Now, their highest priority is, no doubt, to get this thing shut off. They can always drill another well to tap this pool, but they have to stop the leak before they can do anything else.

Anyone who thinks that BP is not doing everything they can to shut this down is simply not thinking clearly. The longer it goes on, the more likely it will spell the end of BP.

President Obama has no resources he can draw on who know how to stop this leak. Everyone with any experience already works for the oil companies and is on the job right now trying to solve the problem. There are zero people in the Obama administration who have even the vaguest clue of what the solution is going to be.

What the Obama administration CAN do is to start planning for the future and find ways to either end this undersea drilling or to assure that something like this won't happen again. He doesn't need to go to the Gulf to do that.

In the meantime, there's a bunch of other crap to be dealt with, at the same time this has to be dealt with. Obama's an attorney, not an geopetroleum-engineer. Those are all working in the industry. What other jobs could they get.

The hand-waving seen in this thread accomplished nothing. It's just another uninformed attack on President Obama.

[mod mom]

31. These are the people who elected to skip a $500,000 back up device required by other countries:

"The Deepwater rig lacked a remote-control shut-off switch, a back-up system that would close the well even if the rig above was destroyed.-snip The oil companies complained that the $500,000 devices were too expensive. Keep in mind the Deepwater was a $560 million rig. Countries like Norway and Brazil require these precautions to avert catastrophe, but in the US the technology is voluntary. This is thanks to a 2003 decision by the Bush administration's Minerals Management Service (MMS)"


http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/05/bp-getting-heat-gulf-disaster

[MineralMan]

32. And shame on them for that. I'm not defending their decisions that

caused the disaster. I'm just pointing out that the only people with experience and expertise in this type of situation work for the oil companies. Further, none of the solutions are quick ones. This has happened. Yes, BP is to be condemned for not applying a safety precaution that might have prevented it. BP is to be condemned for trying to rush this rig into production, thereby destroying another safety device.

But, it has happened. Who do you propose to handle this very technical and arcane problem? Who do you suppose knows what is involved? Who can act more quickly? Right now, we need the same people who work in that industry to get in there and repair the damage. Nobody else is qualified to do so.

President Obama knows that. I'm surprised that you don't. We have no "engineers" who do not work in that industry who know a damn thing about what to do. There aren't any. It's a very, very specialized field, and anyone who is good at it is already working for an oil company or one of the engineering firms that serve the oil companies. And they're on the job right now while we're posting...trying like crazy to get this thing shut off. Nobody, and I mean nobody, benefits from this disaster.

You're taking a political position in a technical crisis. That trick never works. Politicians know bupkis about fixing undersea oil leaks.

[mod mom]

47. Not suggesting making this political but he was elected to PROTECT this country.

Enemies aren't always terrorists but sometimes greedy industry types that can wreak far worse damage to this world than was done on 9/11. I believe it's his duty to take care of this mess and not allow more or further damage to be done by those looking to protect their and their stockholders vested interest.

[hugo_from_TN]

44. The Blowout Preventer malfunctioned. The remote system would not have made a difference.

They still should have had it, but it would not have made a difference since the BOP failed when activated manually by the subs.

[MineralMan]

26. Uh, engineers who specialize in this type of operation work

for oil companies. Where would you find such engineers who do not?

[BeFree]

14. Drilling?

They are not drilling. This is salvage. This is fix time, not drill time.

BP claims they know not what to do. They are asking you for advice. Can you imagine?

I'll bet you if Obama went on TV and said he was letting the Navy takeover BP would find a 'magical' fix in minutes. I say we let Obama try. What do we have to lose?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

15. They're drilling a relief well.

It's the last best option to get it to stop.

"I'll bet you if Obama went on TV and said he was letting the Navy takeover BP would find a 'magical' fix in minutes."

lol

[BeFree]

19. So

You are the expert on this?

Posted by HiFructosePronSyrup
"They're drilling a relief well.
It's the last best option to get it to stop."

You really do trust BP? Why would anybody trust BP at this point?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. I'm not a complete illiterate idiot.

"They're drilling a relief well.
It's the last best option to get it to stop."

BF, that's what all engineers are saying. Not just BP engineers. Engineers.

If you've got a fancy five minute fix for the problem, you should go and tell the field of engineering. I'm sure they'd be happy to have you revolutionize their field.

[BeFree]

24. HFPS writes;

""I'm not a complete illiterate idiot.
"They're drilling a relief well.
It's the last best option to get it to stop."
BF, that's what all engineers are saying. Not just BP engineers. Engineers.""

Question... "all engineers?" what all engineers?
You got a bunch of engineers in your pocket?
Or even one link to back up your astounding proclamation?

[mod mom]

25. Yep...get it out of industry insider hands: Conflict of Interest Worries Raised in Spill Tests

Conflict of Interest Worries Raised in Spill Tests

By IAN URBINA
Published: May 20, 2010

Local environmental officials throughout the Gulf Coast are feverishly collecting water, sediment and marine animal tissue samples that will be used in the coming months to help track pollution levels resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.


Hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake, since those readings will be used by the federal government and courts to establish liability claims against BP. But the laboratory that officials have chosen to process virtually all of the samples is part of an oil and gas services company in Texas that counts oil firms, including BP, among its biggest clients.

Some people are questioning the independence of the Texas lab. Taylor Kirschenfeld, an environmental official for Escambia County, Fla., rebuffed instructions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to send water samples to the lab, which is based at TDI-Brooks International in College Station, Tex. He opted instead to get a waiver so he could send his county’s samples to a local laboratory that is licensed to do the same tests.

-snip
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/science/earth/21conflict.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

WHERE THERE'S VESTED INTEREST-WE GET SCREWED!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

27. My astounding proclamation?

Wait... weren't you one of the moon bombing people?

[BeFree]

28. heh

So, you give up and try another angle?
What about "all engineers"? Yeah, that's your astounding proclamation.
Be strong and own up to it. Don't just run away from your words.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

30. "magical fix in minutes" is an astounding proclamation.

A relief well is what everybody's been talking about for weeks now. At least anybody who's taking this issue seriously.

[MineralMan]

35. Have you been reading about this at all?

Do you have any understanding of the actual situation? The relief well(s) are the most likely thing to get this all shut down. If you'd been reading, you'd know that. The "Top Kill" procedure they're going to try has a slim chance of being able to shut down the leakage, but it's worth trying, since the relief wells are still weeks away from being able to do anything.

It's not a matter of trusting BP. Its a matter of the oil industry being the only experts there are on this technology. The government sure as hell isn't that expert.

Hand-waving isn't going to solve this. Neither is name-calling. Technology operated by the people who do this stuff is what's going to solve it.

I repeat: This is not a political problem. It is a geophysical and technological problem. Politicians cannot stop this disaster. Only engineers and workers with experience in the field can.

[BeFree]

36. Only engineers and workers with experience in the field can.

So why is BP asking for suggestions? You got a smart answer for that?
Asking us for advice kinda belies what you are saying. Eh?

Look, I think BP could fix it and close it off, yesterday. But they don't want to. They want to keep it flowing so they can piss off environmentalist, maybe make it easier to get at the oil easier, and in an oddball way, when they do close it off some assholes will make BP out to be heroes when they do close it.

And in CT terms, if they ruin the gulf then Cheney will be able to say:
Why not drill? We need the oil, we can't damage the gulf any more so open it up. Turn this superfund site into a brownfield and let us develop it.

[MineralMan]

39. I think that's just silly.

And I'm not going to continue this discussion with you any further. If you think BP has, as a goal, pissing off environmentalists, you are way too far gone in your conspiracy theorizing for me to participate in any meaningful discussion.

Rant on.

[MineralMan]

41. One more thing for you to ponder...

They're not asking you for advice. Of that, I'm very certain. They're asking people who know something about geology, oil drilling, and the technology involved in that for advice. I don't believe they'll be all that interested in yours.

[flamingdem]

43. Agreed. As long as BP is allowing input from Obama's scientists and others

which I doubt.

[mod mom]

7. I was glad to see he has Steven Chu and academics/experts gathered to brainstorm.

I don't believe a solution will come from company men who are foremost worried about their corporate interests. BP rec'd adding a toxic dispersant ot the mix-one that remains toxic for 20 years and WAS BANNED IN THE UK. Their priorities are not the same as those who would never have allowed this to happen in the first place.

Symbolism means a lot to public perception. Seeing Michelle in a beautiful gown and the president in a tux while this disaster is so epic and w no end in sight (even though they don't own it & it was caused by greedy oilmen) did not give me confidence as to the administration's priorities. I also believe the people of Louisiana who have suffered so greatly in the recent past, deserve to have attention drawn to this disaster in such a way that it doesn't drift from the public's short term memory. Drawing focus to this disaster will remind this nation of the cost we pay (not only environmentally but think wars as well) for our oil addiction.

[MineralMan]

33. Stephen Chu has no expertise in this area, for Pete's sake.

Academics have no practical knowledge of this problem. They are useless in finding an immediate solution. While they may be able to advise regarding policies, they are helpless to solve the current problem.

The guys who can have grease under their fingernails and years of experience plugging runaway wells. That's what they do. They have degrees, too, but they also have practical experience.

There's no way to put a pretty face on this situation. There's nothing that can be done in meetings, except to discuss how awful it is and about why it shouldn't have happened. It happened. Now, it has to be fixed. Most likely, the fix will come from the relief wells being drilled right now. Once they reach the level of the deposit, they can begin pumping and draw down some of the pressure and slow the flow. Once that happens, there's a chance of creating a plug that will stop the flow from the broken riser and fill the fractured area with drilling mud and concrete. That's still weeks away, though.

In the meantime, they're going to try some stuff that has never been tested in the field. They've already tried a couple of things that failed to work.

So, the oil continues to spew. Dispersants suck, but do they suck worse than crude piling up on beaches? I do not know the answer to that question. I'm not an expert in that field. I do know, though, that dealing with millions upon millions of gallons of crude isn't going to be easy, and it's going to take a long time...probably decades, at least.

You're frustrated. So am I. So is President Obama. Frustration, however, is not expertise. Frustration does not have undersea drilling mud and concrete pumping capabilities. Frustration doesn't do a damn thing to solve the problem. Yes, BP is the cause of the problem. It is to their benefit to solve the problem. Frankly, there is nobody else who can solve the problem.

Just hope that the "Top Kill" idea works. If it does not, then we'll be having the spewing for another several weeks until it can be plugged from below.

President Obama is not the problem. A broken oil rig is the problem. President Obama doesn't know how to fix that. Stephen Chu doesn't know how to fix that. Guys teaching at Universities don't know how to do that. Guys with grease under their fingernails are the only ones who do. And they work for the oil industry. Let's hope their ideas get it done sooner rather than later.

[TwilightGardener]

37. +1

[Upton]

8. I wouldn't have even held

the WH correspondents dinner. Seemed to me the humor was in very poor taste considering the Gulf disaster was already ongoing at the time..

[mod mom]

18. Very poor taste. Reminiscent of * looking under the table for WMD. There's NO HUMOR

what so ever in this situation.

[amborin]

10. a big K&R

[jxnmsdemguy65]

12. Obama should ensconse himself in the Presidential Suite at the Royal Orleans Hotel...

until the well is capped and efforts well underway to clean the Gulf.

[treestar]

34. Why, there are other things going on

And ordinary average people deserve as much as the "base." That's no reason to go into politics. To become more important than other people? If that's the reason, don't work on anyone's campaign.

[lamp_shade]

38. Why sure... of course... why not. I mean... he has NOTHING ELSE TO DO.

JEEZUS, Mom!!

[MineralMan]

40. Right, but, you see, there's only one issue....

at least only one that matters to some people. And the President should drop everything and focus only on that issue. That appears to be what is being said here by the OP and others.

Uff da! That's all I have to say.

[Bragi]

42. Obama has blown up big on this one

The Gulf crisis is a nightmare for Obama right now. Since the blowout, the White House has been paralyzed on dealing with this disaster mostly because it came right after their controversial policy decision was announced allowing previously-banned offshore drilling to take place.

Because of this industry-friendly policy, once the rig blew in the Gulf, the WH knew they were compromised, so they tried to play it down, and hope for the best. The political right, for their part, saw advantage in pinning this on Obama, so that Obama could share their legacy and an inept manger of natural disasters (like Katrina).

Far as I can see, Obama has created a political disaster for himself here. I'm wondering if the deal on approving new offshore drilling might have brought the White House folks into too intimate contact with the oil lobby, and when this crisis hit, the White House staff got their information and strategic advice from their new oil industry friends.

If so, that explains why Obama has met his Katrina. I can't see him reversing himself at this point and making this his top priority, as called for by the initial poster. But I sure support the idea.

[greencharlie]

45. 100% agree with every syllable k&r nt

[Catherina]

46. Rec'd