Obamas' oil spill.
 

Really. Even Eleanor on McLaughlin said he was slow on the uptake, and it's been a long time - when do folks start blaming him a'la Katrina?

Pete

Well, Pete, you may have a point. I guess the question is, what was he supposed to do? And how was he supposed to know. This is a mile under the ocean. Katrina was on television. I just don't see it. Before Katrina hit they told Bush it was coming and it was bad. Of course there was no warning that this was going to happen. But even if there had been and Obama wanted to do something, what would he do?

Maybe I'm the partisan hack on this one, but it feels like attacking someone for something they could do nothing about. And drawing the Katrina comparison probably makes it worse as there clearly were things Bush could have done and did not. No excuse for hungry people to sit for a week in those conditions.

No one blames the hurricane on W. They blame him for not helping Americans in need. There is no corollary to this situation in my opinion. I think they're doing all they can. There's just nothing to do.

If you want to bash Obama on this one, bash him for agreeing to *more* off shore drilling.

Members of his administration took action immediately, and Obama's appointments to such posts have have shown significantly more competence than a horse trader who the last administration put in charge of FEMA. Secondly, lives have not been put immediately at risk by this disaster (other than the sad case of the workers on the rig). No Katrina here.

Regards,

D-Ray

And just one more question- do you blame Bush for Katrina? Just trying to get your point. Are you saing that Bush was wrong and Obama is too, or are you saying Bush did nothing wrong and neither did Obama? You're trying to lump them in the same boat- just trying to figure out which boat.

sorry pete, this is more lunacy from the right

Let me get this straight, Pete. The US Gov't (i.e., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) had the responsibility for the design, construction, maintenance and operation of the New Orleans flood control system. Dubya is the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and by extension, the Corps of Engineers). Dubya had many days of warning before Katrina's landfall and the Corps (and the New Orleans Levee District) had the responsibility to "batten down the hatches" and prepare for the storm.

BP (and its subcontractors) were responsible for the design, construction, maintenance and operation of its Gulf drilling operations. Obama had no advance notice of the well blowout a mile below the ocean's surface, the severity of which was not fully disclosed by BP for days. BP has the knowledge, expertise and equipment (and above all, the responsibility) to support well drilling operations and address mishaps.

This whole Katrina/Oil Spill comparison is, IMHO, nothing more than the GOP trying to compensate for Dubya's screw-up during Katrina and put an equivalent amount of blame/disdain upon Obama as Dubya rightfully got. The Dem's got a lot of mileage out of Katrina and the GOP is attempting (cynically) to get similar mileage.

OK, OK, the Gummint screwed the pooch big-time ala Katrina. Looked like the Keystone Kops, they did. BUT...y'know, it wasn't like we didn't see it coming...For a week or so. EVERY TIME you turned on the TV, they had the path of where it was headed on-Even here. Even as stupid as I am, if I lived in Nawlins, I think I'd made plans to go visit Uncle Thibadeaux 'n' Aunt Boudleleaux upstate...Hitched a ride, took a car, hell walkin' ain't crowded. I do feel that I have a LITTLE responsibility for what happens to my arse...Can't wait/depend on Uncle Sugar for everything.

I don't disagree with you Sandy. I'd have done the same. But a lot of folks didn't. Don't think we can say "well, guess you're gonna die now. Should have made a better decision". Guess we were too busy making life better for all those Iraqis.

Well, he IS the anti-Christ. He coud have caused it, just like he causes baby strollers to roll out into traffic and ravens to peck womens eyes out.............

Regards,
Dave

There is another aspect to it. If they can hang the responsibility for this on the government it fits the mantra of "the government screws everything up" the Right is so fond of.

John

Deliberately ignoring the fact that their party makes up HALF of "the government".

Dave

Also forgetting that it was their administration that approved the drilling plan as well.

I thought you were talking about Bush :D

>_>_>_>_>

Eleanor Clift is hardly a rightwinger.

Pete

I like Eleanor. Didn't hear what she said. Could well be that there is something they could have jumped on faster. But that's what I was saying before- they should just stick to that. Bringing Katrina into doesn't help the argument in my opinion because all you can say is "this isn't really anything like Katrina". I ask the same question, what should they have done sooner and what effect would it have had- what would be different today?

I would not believe anyone on McLaughlin's show. Anymore than I would believe Rove "But why didn't he call in the air force" , how stupid can you get.

You'd have loved the English guy, a nominal leftie. He slammed Obama, said he's giving Great Britain the cold shoulder and screw the special relationship.

That got Eleanor going lol.

Pete

Who in the hell is Eleanor Clift?

Perhaps when he fails to respond? :rolleyes:

Hey Pete, what is it that Obama should have done sooner and what impact would it have had on the situation as it stands today?

Precisely.

Particularly when it might deflect the blame from that corporate citizen of the US, British Petroleum.

Regards,

D-Ray

If Bush was in office when this happened you guys would've been all over him.

She simply said he was slow to respond.

Pete

Interesting side note. Halliburton was the subcontractor responsible for sealing the wellhead on the rig that exploded. Maybe it would have been proper to focus a little ire on the Confused Chimp and his headmaster on that basis alone.

See? SEE??

Lolol.

The Coast Guard is out in force. Where the heck is the military?

Pete

Iraq?:p

Got it. You don't think he did anything wrong. You're just angy because Bush did a bad job and we called him on it.

Obvious answer to that question aside, what would they do? Bomb the oil spill?

My first thought is, they'd deploy barriers a lot faster than anyone else. Second thought, deep sea rescue subs. But the main thing in my mind is manpower. The US Navy is BIG.

Katrina, you guys just don't want it to be the Dem Governors' fault.

Pete

Afraid you're way off base on this one Pete. No need for me to repeat the facts cited by Finn, but the distinctions between the two situations are so glaring that it is clearly a bogus comparison. It's not like you to be so blinded by partisanship as to ignore the obvious. I never had you pegged as thinking along the same lines as Karl Rove.

Regards,

D-Ray

Once again - Eleanor Clift, apologist for the left, friend of lefties everywhere. A brilliant and vicious partisan fighter....

Pete

Pete when did this air? I'd like to hear what she said.

Just because some lefty says something is true doesn't make it so. Are you saying that because Ms. Clift, who has certainly said many things you find objectionable, suddenly says something critical of Obama that it must be correct? WTF does Eleanor Clift know about petroleum engineering anyway?

I'm confused.:confused:

It's the most recent (Fridays show). Watch careful or you'll miss it. I about died.

Afterwards watch the Brit slam the Pres too and see why Clift is such an asset to you guys. She doesn't let up!

I disagree with just about everything she says. I do have a certain respect for her though, she's tough as nails. Maybe we can arrainge a Vegas Clift/Palin matchup. I'd watch.

Pete

I didn't see the show. Did she suggest that the president's reaction to BP's mess is the equivalent of Katrina, or did that part of it come from McLaughlin, or from Karl Rove.

As far as I know, Katrina did not own or operate any oil rigs, and she didn't spend several days downplaying her severity. Come to think of it, I don't think she was ever incorporated.

Regards,

D-Ray

Doesn't look like the most recent trascript is up yet.

She said, almost offhand, he was slow to respond.

First I'd heard of it. But everything she says is calculated, like everything said on that show. There was a reason.

Pete

Here's something perhaps a bit more insightful than Ms. Clift's utterance.

Dunno Pete. Sounds like quite a lot less than "his handling of this situation is reminiscing of Bush's handling of Katrina".

I was still running heavy equipment here in middle TN when Katrina hit. Our job here in middle TN was only doing the groundwork, taking 200-1000 acre farms and clearing tree's, drillin', blastin', loadin' & haulin' dirt & shot rock till the big hills were nothin' left but a light grade just enough so water wouldn't stand in the level where the hills used to be. We cut all the drainage ditches, catch basin & colverts, ext. Then we'd lay all the new sewer lines and run them into the main sewer, and lay water lines and tie into the nearest main line, also ran all the underground electric to each of the pads. Lastly, we finished and paved the new roads through the new sub-divisions to be. When we were done, everything was ready for the contractors to come in and build 250+ houses soon as we left. All the contractors had to do was build the houses as all the services were there for them on each pad. We had 8 crews at all times, and lots of heavy equipment on each job, doing groundwork for sub-divisions to be.

When Katrina hit down south, my boss volunteered to help out cleaning up down there and gave up two crews .. and my boss had never in his life been known to work outside of middle TN. He felt bad for them. It wasn't long before his crews came back though. They said they were tired of seeing folks down there raising hell with the kind hearted people of America that were offering help. They said everyday they seen folks thow a raging fit when volunteers handed them bottled water and sandwitches trying to keep them fed as best they could dealing with so many people. The storm victims wanted more than water to drink, and yelled that fuckin' sandwitches wasn't going to cut it either. So, how do you help folks like that? I know damn well if I lost everything and was hungry, .. I'd be damn thankfull for sandwitches and bottled water. It wasn't like the volunteers could load up and haul everyone for a trip to burger king.

That being said, TN has been hit with a disaster of it's own. I've made three trips to Cheatham, Davidson and Dickson county TN over the last week, and I have to say that these people have came together and are working very hard to try and 'help themselves' through their losses the best they can. Nobody was cursing or expecting more from volunteer workers. They were pitching in 'together', not standing on the sidelines bitchin' for more.

I never said she said that.

Hillbilly, there was a reporter here who helped hand out Thanksgiving turkeys to the poor, same thing, bunch of idiots. I would've told them to get lost.

Hope everything goes well with the flood cleanup, terrible.

Pete