If you stop and think about it with an open mind, it really does look bad.

[Stinky The Clown]

I'm talking about the government's actions since the well blew out.

I am not talking about facts. I am not talking about laws. I am not talking about technology. I am not suggesting doing or not doing something.

I am talking about how it looks.

It looks like the government is doing little or nothing. It looks like BP is powerless and the government is hiding behind that.

The oil continues to spew and nothing is happening. Oil is washing up on beaches. Birds are befouled. Oysters have stopped being shucked in New Orleans.

And it **looks** like the government is doing nothing.





No, I have NO IDEA what to do. I am not criticizing Obama. But I can't see how the average citizen can come to any conclusion apart from their government doing nothing.

Actually, I do have one criticism. Obama's saying he was trying to find out which ass to kick is as unfortunate as BP Tony saying he wanted his life back. While Tony sounded selfish and callous in that remark, I can actually see it as largely innocent. Unfortunate in the extreme.. But innocent. Ditto, the ass kicking target search. Most of us know what it means. But it is really easy to say it means he is so clueless that he doesn't know at whom to be mad.





Again, this post is SOLELY about how this all looks.

[bigwillq]

1. The government is the first to be blamed

whenever something like this happens, even if they're at fault or not. But, I do agree, a lot of people I talk to, either in person or even on Facebook (take that for what it's worth) seem to think the government isn't doing enough.

And, probably, like you, I really don't know what the government can do. Glad I'm not in charge of handling this mess.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. I would LOVE to know what bushco would have done if this was on their watch.

[blondeatlast]

4. That, dear Stinky, is far, far too dismal for me to even consider.

:scared:

[NM_hemilover]

10. How could Bush do less than nothing ?

[sfwriter]

19. Lots Bush would have done...

First, they would be drilling right now on new wells, no moratorium.

The Attorney General would not have gone there.

BP would have assurances from the administration that the government would help offset their losses.

The media blackout would be total. There would be no call for transparency.

Lots Bush would b doing right now if this were his watch.

[Poboy]

27. I agree with this totally, Bush would have done what

he did for us in Katrina. NOTHING.

Please understand, we want to take control and fight this oil, but we are told we will be arrested.
If they would let the Parishes fight this, you can be sure we would do all it takes to save our lands/marsh.
We are beholdant to our keepers, who seem to not care if we live or die.


Thank all of you who are helping by keeping the pressure on.
No hyperbole, our entire way of life is in doubt.

THANK ALL OF YOU

[Tesha]

11. 'bout the same, except we would *NEVER* have seen the oil cams. (NT)

[blondeatlast]

3. Good point. That's why I'm flabbergasted by the administration's lack of PR on this front--

and DUers who know me know that I've been quite the Obama cheerleader. I just think the administration should AT LEAST be doing some major league PR (and of course, whatever else they can).

[Oregone]

12. Lack of PR? But the man is going to put a boot on BPs throat!

Thats Stone Cold Steve Austin shit right there.

[blondeatlast]

14. *snort* nt

[Stinky The Clown]

22. really?

[flyarm]

17. how abou we get ..quote: (and of course, whatever else they can)..FIRST!

before any damn PR..how about we get some truth and honesty first..and some action and government help before we get any more fucking PR!

Before there is nothing left to fucking save!!


Government Collusion with BP to Block Information Flow Means We Need an Independent Commission to Handle Spill Response


By: Jim White Thursday June 10, 2010 6:50 am
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/53862

Writing in Thursday’s New York Times, Jeremy W. Peters provides further documentation of what he titles "Efforts to Limit the Flow of Spill News". Perhaps the most damning evidence Peters provides comes from an effort by Florida Senator Bill Nelson to visit the Gulf with a group of reporters:

Last week, Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, tried to bring a small group of journalists with him on a trip he was taking through the gulf on a Coast Guard vessel. Mr. Nelson’s office said the Coast Guard agreed to accommodate the reporters and camera operators. But at about 10 p.m. on the evening before the trip, someone from the Department of Homeland Security’s legislative affairs office called the senator’s office to tell them that no journalists would be allowed.

“They said it was the Department of Homeland Security’s response-wide policy not to allow elected officials and media on the same ‘federal asset,’ ” said Bryan Gulley, a spokesman for the senator. “No further elaboration” was given, Mr. Gulley added.

Why would the Department of Homeland Security have a policy that prohibits elected officials and media being on the same ship in the Gulf? Is there any other explanation than a blatant attempt by the federal government to stifle reporting on conditions in the Gulf as they really exist, rather than as they have been presented by BP and federal "spokespeople"?

[Poboy]

28. Thank you flyarm

I agree. We need an independent investigator.
The government is complicit in hiding the real magnitude and became coconspirators when they LIED to us about the damage. As per the Rolling Stone article, they knew what was coming our way and allowed us to be blindsided. We had no idea and could have prepared for 3-4 weeks for this. Instead, they just kept denying and minimizing, and now we are being left to die.

[alstephenson]

20. Yes, he should be using the liberal main stream media for PR.

Oh, that's right, the media's not liberal... And the media really doesn't WANT him to succeed - at anything.

[maxsolomon]

5. even Lebron James fucks up

i see a populace of ignorant armchair hysterics thinking "the government" can push some button that doesn't exist, whether it's the "nuke it" button, or the "deploy magic skimmers and booms" button.

increasing complexity in systems leads to failures WHEN, not IF. a catastrophe like this was inevitable given the multitude of underwater wells on the planet, but the blame lies in the deregulatory fever that made a backup BOP optional in Murka, but not Brazil or Denmark.

and it's not even close to the last one.

[Poboy]

29. 'magic skimmer button'

Here is the 'magic skimmer button'. It was not pushed. The Dutch offered weeks ago, but the Admin. refused their help.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8535604

[Uben]

6. That is not my perception, at all

The U.S. government does not own the equipment necessary to stop this leak. They also do not have the technological know-how to stop the leak. So how can you blame an entity that has no power to alleviate the situation? About the only recourse is to gather the best minds in the business along with the companies who have the equipment, and let them have at it. I think that's what is being done.



I wondered what would happen if liquid nitrogen was injected into the well. It should freeze the oil, which in turn would temporarily plug the flow.......theoretically. Once pressure is reduced to zero, something can be done.

[Stinky The Clown]

7. You don't get my point, do you?

You're bringing up facts and theories and logic.

Most people don't go that far.

It is too complicated to contemplate.

The oil is "spilling" or it is not.

They can buy oysters in New Orleans or they can't.

[blondeatlast]

8. He's talking about appearances. Ask your nonpolitically wonky friends what they know

about the spill. I guarantee at least one will say "the government should do more."

It's sad and sorry and sickening, but PR is critical nowadays. And DC is failing miserably on that front.

[grasswire]

9. Anderson Cooper and James Carville commented on that aspect...

...last night. Something about how BP is apparently bigger than the government of the United States of America. Carville wants arrests. He says drop the hammer of the law on them.

[Trillo]

13. I appreciated him talking about "whose ass to kick"

I suspect he kicked some MMS ass. Just a guess. Maybe there's more to come.

[AlinPA]

15. The government does not have robots, well hole pluggers nor the technical expertise to stop the

leak. Nor should they. Admiral Mullen said the military does not have the equipment to stop it. IMO, it really looks like BP has blown the well and has released the oil.

[Common Sense Party]

16. If anything, it will open some people's eyes to the fact that the federal

government is NOT omnipotent. The government CAN'T do everything.

They're not God. They're not Superman.

[Are_grits_groceries]

18. This matters a great deal.

A lot of people don't look much further than the oilcam and the dying anumals. If they do, those are the images that will come to mind first anyway.

There are quite a few books and studies that discuss how much a first look may form a perception that is hard to change. This is how others try to manipulate people into buying something or whatever else. It is subtle but effective.

The Gulf pictures don't have to manipulated to make people feel that things are going very wrong. Nobody is truthfully explaining anything so that vacuum is filled with Hayward, Allen and whatever else. President Obama is trying, but it is very hard to overcome those first images.

I know the arguments about what is being done, about whose fault it really is, about who can really handle this, and the lists of items used, etc.

That can't compete in the general public's mind with what they see. When election time comes, this may be a huge influence on independents.

Rant, argue, snark, dismiss, and disagree all you want. That isn't going to make of bit of difference in 2010 or 2012.

[sendero]

21. As a person who..

... could hardly hold Obama in less esteem, he's no better than Bush except he can talk.

That said, FUCK ALL OF THE ASSHOLES WHO DISMANTLED OUR REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ("free market" Republicans) who are now going "where is the government?"

Hey ASSHOLES IT IS YOUR FAULT THIS HAPPENED, YOU GET YOUR SORRY ASSES DOWN THERE AND CLEAN IT UP.

[GeorgeGist]

23. It's not all about looks ...

if you stop and think that Obama left BP in charge of the spill. That's a fact.

I think his comment about kicking ass looks like he's desparate for a solution to that act of gross negligence.

[uponit7771]

24. It looks bad because the Obama admin REFUSES to acknowledge a PR war

[scheming daemons]

25. I think you are underestimating the American people... and overestimating the power of the media

The people are smarter than you give them credit for.

They understand this.... which is why Obama's approval ratings are still hovering between 45-50% in most polls.

[scheming daemons]

26. Some people have such an "open mind" that they've let their brains fall out

...

[gulfcoastliberal]

30. what looked terrible was when they tried to muzzle scientists who were pointing out

that the 5K barrel/day estimate was BS.

K&R

[tranche]

31. I think it "looks" that way if you watch cable news, read partisan rags, etc..

If you sit down and get all your news from glancing at the front page of your local newspaper (before getting to the important stuff in sports or lifestyle sections) and only watch your local nightly news it doesn't look like the total meltdown political junkies may see it as. These two sources, which the majority of Americans get their news from have not gone into the daily hysterics seen in cable news, partisan mags and blogs have. It's the worst natural disaster of our time. We're starting to realize it's going to take MONTHS and years to get this taken care of... The American people, while frustrated, aren't ready to storm the White House just yet. It "looks" to them like things are slowing being taken care of.

[librechik]

32. why aren't heads rolling? Why aren't fines being assessed?

there is a lot to do that isn't being done and that is why it looks like nothing is being done.

[mhatrw]

33. This is the country that won two World Wars & put men on the moon.

We have the technology to contain 90% of the oil gusher and clean 80% of the other 10%.

We just don't have the will.