President Barack Obama is briefed on the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, aboard Air Force One en route to New Orleans, La., Sunday, May 2, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama listens to Carol Browner, assistant to the President for energy and climate change, during a briefing on the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, aboard Air Force One en route to New Orleans, La., Sunday, May 2, 2010. Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan, second from left, and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, right, also participate in the briefing. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama talks with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, after arriving at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, La., Sunday, May 2, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen, who is serving as the National Incident Commander, and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, brief President Barack Obama about the situation along the Gulf Coast following the BP oil spill, at the Coast Guard Venice Center, Venice, La., Sunday, May 2, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama is briefed about the situation along the Gulf Coast following the BP oil spill, at the Coast Guard Venice Center, in Venice, La., Sunday, May 2, 2010. Pictured, from left, are U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Members of the U.S. Coast Guard listen as President Barack Obama delivers remarks, following a briefing on the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, at the Coast Guard Venice Center in Venice, La., Sunday, May 2, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
President Barack Obama delivers remarks in the rain, following a briefing on the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, at the Coast Guard Venice Center in Venice, La., Sunday, , May 2, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama talks with local fishermen about recovery efforts along the Gulf coastline in Venice, La., Sunday, May 2, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama talks with U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, aboard Marine One as they fly along the coastline from Venice to New Orleans, La., Sunday, May 2, 2010. Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan is in the background. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Obama oil response: aggressive as crisis unfolded
By H. JOSEF HEBERT and ERICA WERNER (AP) – 7 hours ago
WASHINGTON — It was a two-day trip to the Midwest to talk about jobs and clean energy. President Barack Obama didn't mention the drama unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico, where oil was gushing from a broken well pipe a mile beneath the sea.
The situation hadn't become a priority. Soon it would.
On the return to Washington aboard Air Force One, Obama learned the spill had become more worrisome. A third break was discovered at the destroyed well pipe on the ocean floor 40 miles from Louisiana's precious coastal marshes. Federal scientists believed at least 5,000 barrels of oil a day were being released — five times more than original estimates.
And there was no way to stop the flow.
The Gulf region, ravaged five years earlier by Hurricane Katrina, was on the verge of a second ecological disaster. Would there be a repeat of the bureaucratic bungling that marked President George W. Bush's response to the hurricane?
While the Obama administration has faced second-guessing about the speed and effectiveness of some of its actions, a narrative pieced together by The Associated Press, based on documents, interviews and public statements, shows little resemblance to Katrina in either the characterization of the threat or the federal government's response.
On April 20, an explosion engulfed the floating BP oil rig in fire, toppling it into the sea and sending 126 workers fleeing. Eleven never made it and are presumed dead.
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