Obama administration defends BP response to oil spill disaster

[Karmadillo]

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/may2010/spil-m25.shtml

Amid growing popular anger over BP’s disastrous response to the gulf coast oil spill, the Obama administration came to the company’s defense on Monday, while again rejecting any federal takeover of the response.

Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen defended BP’s actions at a White House press conference on Monday, calling them “rational.” Allen said that he could not see any reason why the federal government should take over the response to the oil spill.

<edit>

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs also insisted that the White House would not back down from its plans to promote offshore oil drilling. In response to reporters’ questions about Obama’s continued support for the program, Gibbs said only that that the White House has formed a panel to advise the president on ways to prevent future offshore drilling spills.

Despite the claims by the administration that it has put a moratorium on offshore oil drilling, the New York Times reported Monday that seven new permits for gulf drilling, as well as five environmental assessment waivers, have been issued since the moratorium supposedly went into effect. Minerals Management Service personnel told the Times that they had, in the newspaper’s words, “no intention of stopping all new oil and gas production in the gulf.”

[boston bean]

1. BP must be the only entity in the world, human or not, that knows how to suck oil out of water!

And clean oil off of beaches, rocks and wildlife.

I know our government could mount a response to keep oil off the shores. Send in General Honore, he'll kick some asses and get shit done.

Anyone who doesn't think that is the truth is a screwball!

And don't give me the shit like: but if we stop it from hitting shore, we won't be able to recoup money from BP and make them pay!

STOP IT FROM HITTTING SHORE!

[Jamastiene]

2. Exactly.

Certainly, our government could mobilize some sort of protection for the shore. I know they are capable of at least that much.

[sendero]

3. Obama continues to impress me...

... with his utter and complete failure to "get" what is happening.

[Junkdrawer]

4. You guys are going to ruin Commandant Thad Allen's cushy BP retirement job....

Coast Guard chief: BP best hope to plug leak

COVINGTON, Louisiana - The Obama administration's point man on the oil spill rejected the notion of removing BP PLC and taking over the crisis Monday, saying the government has neither the company's expertise nor its deep-sea equipment.

"To push BP out of the way, it would raise the question, to replace them with what?" Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen, who is heading the federal response to the spill, said at a White House briefing.

...

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar suggested over the weekend that the government could intervene aggressively if BP wasn't delivering. "If we find that they're not doing what they're supposed to be doing, we'll push them out of the way appropriately," he said.

But asked about that comment Monday, Allen said: "That's more of a metaphor."

...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37313425/ns/gulf_oil_spill

[Name removed]

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[xchrom]

6. Oily birds flocking together. Nt