I wonder what the response will be if the leak stops soon ...

[Empowerer]

Will the pundits and politicians who are now trashing President Obama give him any credit for it? After all, if he's to blame for the problem, shouldn't he get credit for the solution?

I think I know the answer. I have a sneaking suspicion that the media will almost immediately thereafter move on to something else with hardly an acknowledgment to the President and most of the politicians who now insist that Obama isn't doing enough will give credit to private industry and go back to their "leave everything in the hands of business because government can't ever do anything right" laissez-faire crusades.

[gristy]

1. Elation. Out right joy. That's what I think the reaction will be.

[cornermouse]

2. Exactly.

The oil spill is not a political party issue. Its a life and death issue.

[Empowerer]

5. I wish I thought you were right

But for all too many people, this IS a political matter and they seem to be getting great glee out of trying to assign blame to and hoping it will undermine President Obama and his administration - much as they tale pleasure in any evidence of economic downturn because believe that it advance their own political fortunes if the President fails.

[cornermouse]

6. Did Obama cause it? No.

Did Obama move fast enough to get out in front of it and take control? I don't happen to think he did. There is no glee involved here. We're looking at a nightmare. On a purely personal level I bought a summer's supply of tuna recently because I don't know if there will be tuna available later in this year or if there is, whether it will be safe to eat.

A Gulf of Mexico that is basically destroyed is a life and death issue. If the hurricanes pick up the dispersants and oil and bring them inland as rain, what will be the effect on my garden and my chickens? What will be the effect on other livestock? To me this is not an issue of political power, this is potentially an issue of life and death that goes beyond the Gulf. If you want to make this a political issue about people either side of who's responsible, just watch me walk away from you and this conversation.
:mad:

[EffieBlack]

7. Why do you think this is a criticism of you?

The OP directly addresses people in the media and politics, not to everyone who criticized the Obama Administration's response. It may not be an issue of politics for you, but there are plenty of people who are using this for their own political gain and who are criticizing the president, not because they really think he's not handling this right but because 1) they hope to find some way to hurt him politically and 2) they are desperately trying, after all these years, to reshape and repair Bush's legacy by making it seem as if his abysmal response in Katrina was comparable in some way to Obama's response to the oil disaster and therefore not so bad after all.

I don't think this is about you at all.

[cornermouse]

9. .

This isn't about me. Its about all the states north of the Gulf, the people who live in them, and the potential effects of dispersant and oil on the food and livestock grown there (which is shipped to the supermarket in your city or town) via remnants of the 29 hurricanes they're expecting this year. That was my point.

[EffieBlack]

19. And your point, while well taken, has absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand

which is media and partisan political hypocrisy - an observation just as well taken as your concerns, and not the least bit contradictory to them.

[cornermouse]

21. I don't spend my time making up false accusations to throw at other people.

Consider yourself "ignored".

[Iwasthere]

3. I agree

Then the work begins. How do you contain the toxic soup plumes in the gulf while they break down. I predict this will be a global disaster far beyond anyones imagination. If we could actually hear the undersea wildlife can you imagine the horror?

[BklnDem75]

4. Yeah, right

More like whatever solution ends the problem should have been done in the first place. The media has become so predictable, they don't even pretend anymore.

[Oregone]

8. Depends on the cleanup, right?

[jonnyblitz]

10. I was wondering just the opposite awhile ago. If DUer's are

willing to give Obama the credit if this is successful will they blame him if it isn't? I am sure if it works Obama will be praised to the heavens here and if it fails BP will get the blame . :crazy:

[cornermouse]

11. BP's refusal to follow the rules and standards is the reason the

leak occurred in the first place. Why would we NOT blame them?

[Empowerer]

12. I'm really surprised by these reactions to my post

It's odd that so many DUers read my post as a personal attack against them and everyone who is critical of the Administration's performance in the wake of the oil spill. It was nothing of the kind, as a plain reading of the post should make clear. As was noted, I expressly referred to "pundits," "politicians," and the "media." Why so many DUers - most of whom likely fit none of those categories - are personally affronted by my post is beyond me.

I stand by my point.

[Political Tiger]

13. That's because for far too many people

This oil spill isn't about the environmental consequences or BP, but about them and their never ending hatred for President Obama.

It really doesn't matter what's going on in the country or the world, there are some people who are going to use whatever it is as an excuse to blame and/or get mad at Obama, because they need to, because when all is said and done, it's all about them!

And because it's all about them, they take everything personal.

[Go2Peace]

15. Not true. This is simply democracy in action. See my other post

At least with folks on this side of the partisan divide.

[Go2Peace]

14. This was a national crisis. Whoever was President would be to some extent judged by the response

what is so hard to understand about that?

It is a reflection of how serious this spill was viewed, not really a reflection of Obama per se, but to the extent that the Government is here *for just such a situation and to protect us from such a situation* the current administration will be judged. And RIGHTFULLY, it is our DEMOCRATIC DUTY.

I don't care who is in the office, I want them to be on top of this shit and I want them to make sure it doesn't happen in the first place.

I think the President *should* get heat. Because that is the way Democracy works. His administration was in when it happened.

Now, having said that, the way to deflect it and "fix" it is to impliment comprehensive policies that assure this will not happen again. If he does that it resolves the error and the democratic process works, history gives Obama credit, and everything is good.

[Imajika]

16. I don't think most people think of it as a political issue..

Most of my family is connected to the military and right of center. I was just at a wedding and they were mostly all gathered in one place, and absolutely no one was blaming Obama. Even those Glenn Beck/Limbaugh listening types were just hoping and praying the leak can be stopped and the oil cleaned up. Far more people blame BP, which is exactly who is at fault here. Anecdotal evidence? Sure, but I get the same impression out at the bar or at work. It is pretty much impossible to reasonably blame the President for this. People who try that tend to sound so silly they can not be taken seriously.

[Raine]

17. Back to business as usual nt

x(

[depakid]

18. When Obama becomes a petroleum engineer- I'll give him credit or blame

His job was and is to put the government and its administrative agencies in order- the focus on credit and blame for failures and successes belongs there....

[slackmaster]

20. The media will switch over to the Israeli nuclear-armed submarines positioned off Iran

:nuke: