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Obama Fail: Month After Oil Gusher, Why is BP Still In Charge?
WASHINGTON - Days after the Gulf Coast oil spill, the Obama administration pledged to keep its "boot on the throat" of BP to make sure the company did all it could to cap the gushing leak and clean up the spill.
OBAMA SOLUTION? A BIPARTISAN COMMISSION -- A graphic showing how the Gulf current could spread the oil spill to the coast of Florida. A bipartisan presidential commission has been set up to probe the huge oil spill from a wrecked BP-leased rig in the Gulf of Mexico, US President Barack Obama said. (AFP/Graphic) But a month after the April 20 explosion, anger is growing about why BP PLC is still in charge of the response.
"I'm tired of being nice. I'm tired of working as a team," said Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana.
"The government should have stepped in and not just taken BP's word," declared Wayne Stone of Marathon, Fla., an avid diver who worries about the spill's effect on the ecosystem.
That sense of frustration is shared by an increasing number of Gulf Coast residents, elected officials and environmental groups who have called for the government to simply take over.
In fact, the government is overseeing things. But the official responsible for that says he still understands the discontent.
"If anybody is frustrated with this response, I would tell them their symptoms are normal, because I'm frustrated, too," said Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen.
"Nobody likes to have a feeling that you can't do something about a very big problem," Allen told The Associated Press Friday.
Still, as simple as it may seem for the government to just take over, the law prevents it, Allen said.
After the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, Congress dictated that oil companies be responsible for dealing with major accidents - including paying for all cleanup - with oversight by federal agencies. Spills on land are overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency, offshore spills by the Coast Guard.
"The basic notion is you hold the responsible party accountable, with regime oversight" from the government, Allen said. "BP has not been relieved of that responsibility, nor have they been relieved for penalties or for oversight."
He and Coast Guard Adm. Mary Landry, the federal onsite coordinator, direct virtually everything BP does in response to the spill - and with a few exceptions have received full cooperation, Allen said.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was even more emphatic.
"There's nothing that we think can and should be done that isn't being done. Nothing," Gibbs said Friday during a lengthy, often testy exchange with reporters about the response to the oil disaster.
There are no powers of intervention that the federal government has available but has opted not to use, Gibbs said.
Asked if President Barack Obama had confidence in BP, Gibbs said only: "We are continuing to push BP to do everything that they can."
The White House is expected to announce Saturday that former Florida Sen. Bob Graham and ex-EPA Administrator William K. Reilly will lead a presidential commission investigating the oil spill. Graham is a Democrat. Reilly served as EPA administrator under President George H.W. Bush. The commission's inquiry will range from the causes of the spill to the safety of offshore oil drilling.
BP spokesman Neil Chapman said the federal government has been "an integral part of the response" to the oil spill since shortly after the April 20 explosion.
"There are many federal agencies here in the Unified Command, and they've been part of that within days of the incident," said Chapman, who works out of a joint response site in Louisiana, near the site of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.
Criticism of the cleanup response has spread beyond BP. On Friday, the Texas lab contracted to test samples of water contaminated by the spill defended itself against complaints that it has a conflict of interest because it does other work for BP.
TDI-Brooks International Inc., which points to its staffers' experience handling samples from the Exxon Valdez disaster, said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helped audit the lab and approved its methods.
"A typical state laboratory does not have this experience or capacity," TDI president James M. Brooks said.
The company's client list includes federal and state agencies along with dozens of oil companies, among them BP, a connection first reported by The New York Times. TDI-Brooks said about half of the lab's revenue comes from government work.
Test results on Deepwater Horizon samples will figure prominently in lawsuits and other judgments seeking to put a dollar value on the damage caused by the spill.
Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes, who traveled to the Gulf the day after the explosion and has coordinated Interior's response to the spill, rejected the notion that BP is telling the federal government what to do.
"They are lashed in," Hayes said of BP. "They need approval for everything they do."
If BP is lashed to the government, the tether goes both ways. A large part of what the government knows about the oil spill comes from BP.
The oil company helps staff the command center in Robert, La., which publishes daily reports on efforts to contain, disperse and skim oil.
Some of the information flowing into the command center comes from undersea robots run by BP or ships ultimately being paid by BP. When the center reported Friday that nearly 9 million gallons of an oil-water mixture had been skimmed from the ocean surface, those statistics came from barges and other vessels funded by BP.
Allen, the incident commander, said the main problem for federal responders is the unique nature of the spill - 5,000 feet below the surface with no human access.
"This is really closer to Apollo 13 than Exxon Valdez," he said, referring to a near-disastrous Moon mission 40 years ago.
"Access to this well-site is through technology that is owned in the private sector," Allen said, referring to remotely operated vehicles and sensors owned by BP.
Even so, the company has largely done what officials have asked, Allen said. Most recently, it responded to an EPA directive to find a less toxic chemical dispersant to break up the oil underwater.
In two instances - finding samples from the bottom of the ocean to test dispersants and distributing booms to block the oil - BP did not respond as quickly as officials had hoped, Allen said. In both cases they ultimately complied.
"Personally, whenever I have problem I call (BP CEO) Tony Hayward" on his cell phone, Allen said.
Associated Press writers Frederic J. Frommer and Ben Feller in Washington, Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans, Matt Sedensky in Marathon, Fla., Ray Henry in Atlanta and Holbrook Mohr in Jackson, Miss., and Michelle Roberts in San Antonio contributed to this story.
214 Comments so far
Show AllBrilliant strategy for BP lie, lie, lie, cover-up and go to court with a briefcase full of undisputed lies. Then let the American working class fools pay for it all. Roast in hell you bastards!
"Brilliant strategy for BP lie, lie, lie, cover-up and go to court with a briefcase full of undisputed lies."
Sounds a lot like the government too.
Obama has proven his Reaganeque supply-side philosophy once again, just as he did with the banksters, health care "reform" and other issues.
The Obama administration never had a Blowout Preventer. After the accident they couldn't stop gushing about BP.
Even though the media has only ever dealt with oil SPILLS in the past, I would call this situation an 'oil geyser', not a 'spill'. A spill gets spilled and then you clean it up. A geyser just keeps on spewing. That is until you put some golf balls and shredded up old tires in there. Bwaaahaaaahaaa!
We are having our annual WigOUT...if you are finding that the war/climate/oil GEYSER/economy/teabaggers and a lot more are making you wigout- then show it. Wear a Wig next Friday the 28th, its national We Are Wigging Out Day.
True, true blueskykate1:
It is a GUSHER. Here's a list of Obama's 10 Failures in the Gulf:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ybenjamin/detail?entry_id=64175
I just keep asking myself the same question over and over and over:
WHO gave a "permit" for BP to drill over a MILE deep into the Gulf when BP KNEW THEY WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO DEAL WITH A DISASTROUS BROKEN PIPE/OIL AND GAS GUSHER???
Inquiring minds want to know.
I just hope Congress tries to find out.
I'm calling for a World-wide moratorium on all off shore oil drilling/wells. If it means the end to Happy Motoring, then so be it.
Future generations should have the right to live on this planet as it SHOULD be, not as greedy corporations decide it WILL be.
Cicero: "Freedom is participation in power."
Why is BP still in charge? Short answer: Because President Otoken and the DLC are scared shitless of their lawyers, lobbyists, PR hacks and their massive Exxon-like legal war chest that could destroy their cushy political careers singly or en masse for as many years as it takes to complete the job.
One of the CD posters earlier in the week described the oil geyser as "corporate diarrhea." It's really more like corporate ebola virus with no known cure. I don't believe they even know for sure if that relief well they say will be completed by September will work. Obama's political career is toast no matter who he's afraid of now. He's just too big a craven fool to realize it yet. When the GOP gets back in control in 2013 it'll be even worse.
Well said, exactly right.
What you said.
As a second thought,
"When the GOP gets back in control in 2013 it'll be even worse"
Its looking like they may get control before then don't you think. I believe they are going to take the Houise, but I begin to suspect they may get the Senate too.
"When the GOP gets back in control in 2013 it'll be even worse"
Why would it get worse when both parties are paid by the same people?
But the "sell" is different between them, isn't it?
Some folks are so beat down by the system -or else being realistic in their low expectations from it- that the few bones that will be tossed to us during Dem-rule and the few bones that will be tossed to our Culture War "enemies" the "conservatives" during Repub-rule is all they are expecting or concerned about.
-matti.
"When the GOP gets back in control in 2013 it'll be even worse."
I believe this is by design. Think about it. The Democrats stepped aside in 2000, considering the very nasty chores the empire needed to get started on. Repubs were the party to do the job. It would have destroyed the Dems. So instead of winning, the Dems stepped aside and became helpless enablers. Remember? "Grow a spine!" yelled their base. It had nothing to do with spine, it had to do with getting a nasty job done and keeping the money flowing into their coffers.
After Bush's 2nd - low approval - term, it was time to let the people think they had a choice in these matters via Obama - but by now Dems had ooodles of excuses to continue the previous policies. "It takes time to turn this ship!" "They inherited a mess!" "Give him a chance!" "There is evil in the world!" lots and lots of excuses .... as the agenda moves forward.
Now that it's clear there is little difference, Dems must give it back to the Repubs whose base approves of their callousness and war mongering, at least to a greater degree than the Dem base. When things become even more dire, Dems will again run around in circles of exasperation, saying, "We don't have the votes!" "Obama was too inexperienced. We know better now!" "Get us back into the Whitehouse" "Change!" ....... and so it goes.
"When things become even more dire, Dems will again run around in circles of exasperation, saying, "We don't have the votes!" "Obama was too inexperienced. We know better now!" "Get us back into the Whitehouse" "Change!" ....... and so it goes."
I suspect that you have predicted exactly what the future holds.
Words on this site will last forever.
Do Progressives really want to be remembered for personal attacks on the first non-pasty faced inhabitant of the 'White House'?
Progressives, proudly marching to the wrong side of history.
What a crock.
I hope you are paid for this sort of thing.
Otherwise it is just too sad.
So personal attacks are your stock in trade?
Thanks for your contribution to the serious discussion here.
Okay Mr. Sensitive.
I'm super-duper sorry.
I don't think you are a troll.
I don't think you are trying to twist people's words.
I don't think you are attempting to use "white liberal guilt" to counter legitimate criticism of one of the most inneffective (or deceitful) Administrations-with-a-majority-in-Congress the United States has ever seen.
And I don't think you must be either a paid or volunteer agent for the Dem party to possibly have a decent motivation to not do all of the above.
As for "serious discussion", why not see my post below?
I bring up the strangeness of the idea -subtextual in the article- that Congress somehow cannot change laws regarding oil-spill-cleanup to put the Administration in charge of it.
Then I note that in my recollection, such "What can WE do about the law? We're just the majority in the law-making body and the holder of the law-signing Office in this country." attitudes seem to be an affliction of Dem party Admins and Majorities, but not the Repub ones.
"Serious" enough for you?
Care to respond without twisting my words?
-matti.
As a patriotic American, I am a little offended by your comment. I think it is disrespectful to call that inept, lying, spineless corporate tool in whitey's house "the first non-pasty faced inhabitant of the 'White House'"
Please use more decorum in the future. Thank You.
Really? The race card? I have some information you may be interested to know. Black people can be every bit as evil as white. Evil knows no race.
Obomber deserves the attacks as much as Bush did, why should race matter?
Cicero: "Freedom is participation in power."
If Buckminster Fuller were alive today he'd give homo sapiens another 80 to 90 years tops before a tiny handful living near the poles return to Stone Age conditions. Who gives a shit about the reputation of any political group in Amurka who does nothing to reverse the course this country is on, including its on-their-ass, disorganized, politically correct, nit-picky "progressives," let alone that corporatist militarist pig Obomber? "The wrong side of history." What drivel. Why, because President Oreo is outwardly black so we daren't criticize him. How imbecilic.
Metal:
Some days you make sense and some days you don't.
"It's really more like corporate ebola virus with no known cure." –(metal)
–The viral metaphor is apt.
Corporate and American terror as pandemic locked in pure synchronicity, self-propagating. Cross fertilizing.
As one. In the torture gardens.
Torture transubstantiated as an act from the human subject onto the natural world itself.
There is "no known cure" as the virus cannot die–only metastasize, adapting onto other hosts. Not because it is willed but because it must. Out an almost neurological necessity.
The capitalist dream apotheosized as biology.
Permanent war in all spheres. Automatically. Out of thin air.
According to Gibbs, due to past agreements after other "spills", the LAW states that the SOLE RESPONSIBILITY FOR CLEAN-UP LIES WITH THE OIL CORPORATION.
Which means that the U.S. government made a dirty deal with big oil to not "interfere".
Time for an executive order to amend that "law".
We have no trouble suspending the law when it comes to Faisal Dipshit or any other non-threat with an Arabic name.
Joe
"Personally, whenever I have problem I call (BP CEO) Tony Hayward" on his cell phone, Coast Guard Commandant Allen said.
And his response? Loan me another billion, pal, then I might talk to you.
Coast Guard Commandant Allen calls Tony Hayward in order to receive his marching orders.
...... sailing orders. :)
They have to use sail boats. The boats with motors stall out in the heavy oil.
BP is charge because for all intents and purposes there no difference between those that run the Government and those that run the Corporations.
This is how Fascism works.
Leaving BP in charge of the disaster they cause, along with TransOcean and Halliburton, is exactly the same as leaving the Wall St. bankster class in charge of the economic disaster they created. Or letting the big insurance companies and Pharma write the health insurance "reform" legislation. It's all perfectly consistent for Team Obama. And it's all brilliantly explained in Naomi Klein's "Shock Doctrine," the way capitalists repeatedly create one disaster after another and then profit from them, to the tune of billions, even trillions of dollars. BP was Obama's largest corporate campaign contributor, so they, along with many Wall Street banks, own his ass. He might talk tough about holding their feet to the fire over this catastrophe, but they and he knows who is really in charge: disaster capitalism. In the end, they'll find creative ways to profit from this, as the Gulf of Mexico dies, animal and plant species are wiped out, the fishing industry is hollowed out, and millions of lives are permenently and irreversibly damaged. But BP will just keep showing record profits. And Obama will be playing golf with Tony Hayward.
"Leaving BP in charge of the disaster they cause, along with TransOcean and Halliburton, is exactly the same as leaving the Wall St. bankster class in charge of the economic disaster they created. ... It's all perfectly consistent for Team Obama." –(Ephraim)
–Succinct. A précis and summary judgement. It can be no other way in America.
It would be the same no matter what Presidential administrative "team" was facilitating the crimes of global capitalism.The ravages of the capitalist dynamic metastasize with a life of their own beyond the scope of presently existing political 'solutions.' The "right thing" will not only not be done, but it cannot be done.
The impending ecological 'dead zone' in the Gulf of Mexico is a metaphoric extension for the vacuity and irrepressible malaise of America itself. This has almost become a syndrome of an exuberant, dark vitality–a technologically driven malfeasance on automatic pilot.
In a rotting, interior 'spiritual' geography, 'war,' as a concept– is transubstantiated into all things– both psychic and spatial beyond the specific formal act of war. So much so that even 'accidents' such as the BP 'mistake' are eerily acts of war. These automatic by-products of the core system become almost natural facts.
Disaster Capitalism moving beyond intentional design into pure being.
Death everywhere.
Only death.
Sioux
VASHKAR: Exactly. I call it "Mars rules." The warrior only knows the power of destruction, a taking of life; and until he reconciles with his Divine co-partner, the Feminine Intention designed to act as counterbalance (in expresssing the life-giving force), all things living and vital are placed at risk. This is not only about capitalism, it's about inculcating into human beings a respect ONLY for the masculine side of the Deity and those acts of aggression seen as reflective of supernatural power. Patriarchal religions have chummed the collective consciousness with these morsels for centuries. Missing are the powers to love, heal, negotiate, share, and care; for none of those are part of the Mars' ethos. A very good case can be made that America's love of militarism smacks of its homage to the ancient god of warfare, i.e. Mars. What else would explain national priorities that slash school lunch programs and the basic safety net for the most vulnerable, while increasing budgets for arms to the armed forces are never questioned, added to investments in such atrocities as yet MORE bombs. It is an anti-life paradigm dressed up and sold most to the "right to life" devotees. Spiritual schizophrenia defines the nature of so pervasive an inverted national psychosis. Of course capitalism, which is to economics what warfare is to international policymaking, plays substantially into all of this... like the bacteria most prepared to feed off the fallen log. Sometimes it pre-empts the natural order by pushing over said log to get to the natural resources. Pragmatism mated with militarism... respect for life cannot be tolerated in such a union.
Sioux Rose,
Thank you nicely encapsulating the drift of what I was trying to say and for expanding it.
Yes.
Excellent post.
Thumbs up
Nice summary, Ephriam.
Joe
Sioux Rose
EPHRAIM: I've been connecting the same exact dots, and in fact posed a similar message on another thread. It's IMPOSSIBLE not to note the PATTERN, and as any skilled attorney knows, to influence a jury, establishing pattern is everything. The moves in plain sight as choreographed by the CEO of Brand America, Inc. are to just law what garbage is to aroma-therapy.
"In the end, they'll find creative ways to profit from this, as the Gulf of Mexico dies..." –(Ephraim)
–As the rapacious vultures of crony capitalism descend as they have in Iraq and Afghanistan, one can more accurately say, not "in the end," but at the very beginning do they alight on the latest road kill.
The profits are turned in a continuum of near instantaneity.
You can take that to the "bank." No pun intended, as that's where it was to begin with.
http://blogs.trb.com/features/family/parenting/blog/obama_smoking.png
"So..."?
Relieving B.P. of command over their busted well is against the law? How can that be? If I walk across the street to my neighbors house, and dump my trash their everyday, does my neighbor have any recourse? Beside shooting me that is.
A blue ribbon commission to find someone to point the finger at. We already know that ....! There are very intelligent people in the world but they aren't at B.P. and they're not in Congress.
Congress and Obama are in full demonstration mode of their gross incompetence. Besides, mid-term elections are coming up, and Congress needs B.P's campaign contributions. Unbelievable.
And remember that "against the law" is a meaningless barrier to a party that controls both houses of Congress -the body that MAKES the laws.
After Exxon Valdez, Congress enacted some law that puts the spiller in charge of a spill cleanup.
Now after this spill (gush), Congress can make another law that puts the Administration in charge of spill (gush) cleanup.
The weird idea that the law is a barrier to Congressional action is a meme that only seems to gain currency when the Dems hold the majority.
-matti.
This administration and this Congress have failed in every instance since they gained power.
They have been corrupt in their actions, inept in their duties and have violated their oaths of office.
Other than the above they have done a swell job!
- This administration and this Congress have failed -
This comment is more accurate than the article.
But once again we have an article blaming Mr. Obama, and him only.
It's so interesting to read all the criticism of corporate media here, well, except when it criticizes Mr. Obama.
That's interesting.
Consequences of the Imperial Presidency and the way the Dem and Repub parties structure themselves.
Congress is held second now in the media mind to the President in all matters, even law-making.
And Obama is the de facto head of the party that controls Congress.
If he would use his "bully pulpit" for something other than ensuring the over-sized wealth of Wall Street crooks -like say, getting Congress to change the law on spill cleanup- folks might be less down on his job performance.
-matti.
Obama is the head of the Executive Branch. Not the Judicial, not the Legislative. Federal in the field response to the gusher is Obama's responsibility just as Federal response to Katrina was Bush's.
It was also the responsibility of the Executive Branch to enforce regulations, another fail.
This epic man-made disaster will be a wake-up call for the millions of people who believe nothing done in America can possibly be wrong, and if something is done wrong, we have the power to fix it. Or maybe we'll make believe we never did it and move on, ignoring our responsibility.
This oil spill is a textbook case of irresponsibility and mistakes. These are some of the excuses I've heard so far:
- Several weeks prior, part of the safety system was damaged. Workers found pieces spewed up in the oil. They were told not to worry about it.
- A 1/2 million dollar safety device, required on oil rigs off shore in other countries, was not installed.
- A battery was dead.
- Some cement, recently poured by Halliburton, wasn't equally distributed in a casing that holds the oil back.
- The physical appearance of the rig didn't match the schematics.
The common factors in all of these errors are 1) lack of concern for safety, 2) an attempt to save time, in order to 3) save/make money. Greed. Money. Isn't it absolutely disgusting how many bad decisions are made because of it?
And now - the disaster is in full force. It has become an uncontrollable Monster.
In the midst of this, how can anybody make a comment that it's not really all that bad? BP CEO Tony Hayward did.
One news network actually said the amount of leaked oil is insignificant, because it constitutes only a miniscule percentage of the overall volume of water in the Gulf. Has she considered what would happen to her coffee if she put a miniscule drop of oil in it?
And then there's the finger pointing. All I see on tv are little boys, whining:
"Billy did it!"
"No! Tony did it!"
"No! Obama did it!
"No! God did it!"
"No! Dick did it!"
They can't even agree on how much oil is being spewed. At this point, I think arguing is irrelevant and a waste of time. Does it matter if there are 70,000 barrels a day or "only" 5,000 being released? Don't be silly! The level of destruction will already be huge beyond anybody's imagination. This oil is NOT just going to dissipate back into nature quickly. First it will do its damage - destroying everything in its path. This is the Monster of our time. The uncontrollable Frankenstein.
- First, it is killing the fish and all other aquatic animals and plants.
- Then, it started to destroy the wetlands.
- Has it gotten into the Loop Current or not, allowing it to travel around the tip
of Florida and up the East Coast? How could 13 million, or even "only" 5 million
gallons not spread out and be picked up by that?
- What will happen when it hits the Florida beaches? Or has it already?
- Will it leave its path of destruction throughout the Florida Keys, taking out
coral reefs, fish, and fishing communities along the way?
- Will it leisurely meander its way up to Miami?
- Will it devour the East Coast Harbors?
- How far will tides take it into rivers?
- How many lives will be ruined?
I could go on - but you get the idea.
This is the kind of Monster Americans pay billions of dollars to go see at the movies. The difference, I suspect, is that in the movies the Monster can be destroyed. I believe everybody involved is doing whatever they can to stop the leak and limit the damage. However, I also believe they truly have no idea whatsoever what to do. This Monster is in control. It will do the damage it wants to do, and disappear in its own time.
This is an error we have made, that we will not be able to fix or ignore. It's an error that can't be corrected with a bailout. This is an error we are going to need to acknowledge and learn to live with. In the meantime, I wish people would please stop pointing fingers. They must have a more productive use for that energy.
I never believed in privatization and know that it is just a front for "robbing you blind." But stuff like this is the inevitable outcome of privatization. Seems like that's what I have been hearing for years that everyone wants. (Except those few pesky left-wingers who everyone knows just want to bring socialism to America.)
So I don't really understand what the complaint is. If the private corporation doesn't think the cost benefit analysis is in favor of throwing a lot of cash into fixing it, then, the market rules and that ought to be the end of the discussion. And if letting the Gulf of Mexico die, and whatever else is in the path of the oil, isn't these people's idea of a reasonable option then they need to get off the private property bandwagon, not just when something has already happened but before, so it doesn't.
And if I sound pissed off, well, I am. Hope I have kept it rational.
Well, said.
Thirty years of smaller government, private enterprise, and free maarkets, and here you go. We don't have a federal government anymore.
Whatever does remain has been cut to the bone, (excluding the Pentagon) and most agency heads and staffers are industry hacks for the very corporations they're supposed to be watching over.
Everything has basically been farmed out and privatized.
Teabaggers and Right wingers should be happy now, no?