Point-by-point Analysis of Obama's Address on the BP Disaster

[berni_mccoy]

This list was compiled from the transcript available here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-nation-bp-oil-spill

1. The BP Deepwater Horizon disaster is the worst environmental disaster in American History.
The combination of the deepness of the well and the volume of oil make it uniquely challenging to solve.

2. The damage from this disaster will be economically and environmentally severe and will impact us for years to come.
Likewise the response will go on for as long as needed.

3. We expect to reduce the flow of oil by 90% in the coming weeks
....3.1 Relief well is still the only 100% solution... completion expected by August
....3.2 Energy Secretary Chu, a Nobel Prize winning Physicist, has led a technology innovation team to reduce flow until then

4. Cleanup has already begun
....4.1 Led by Admiral Allen
....4.2 Over 30,000 personnel are involved
....4.3 17 thousand more National Guard will be activated.
....4.4 5.5 million linear feet of boom have been deployed
....4.5 Construction approved to build barrier islands
....4.6 Millions of gallons of oil have been recovered or burned
....4.7 Oil on the shores is being cleaned up
....4.8 Claims are being processed

5. Despite all these efforts, damage is done and will continue
....5.1 President is personally meeting with BP to establish an independently controlled fund to pay for damages
....5.2 BP will not control fund
....5.3 Payments for economic and environmental damages will be paid from fund

6. Establishing a long-term Gulf Coast Restoration Plan
....6.1 Led by Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus
....6.2 Plan will be designed by those impacted: states, local communities, tribes, fishermen, businesses, conservationists and other Gulf residents.
....6.3 Will be paid for by BP

7. This type of disaster must never happen again. Establishing new regulatory standards
....7.1 Current safety guidelines were not followed on BP Deepwater Horizon
....7.2 We will find out why, a National Commission has been established to find out why
....7.3 Commission will establish new standards to prevent this disaster
....7.4 Deepwater drilling has been stopped until we have answers

8. MMS is a failure
....8.1 Salazar did not do enough to fix the MMS
....8.2 MMS will be completely reorganized
....8.3 Influence of oil industry must be completely removed from oversight agencies

9. No matter how much oversight and regulation, Drilling for Oil is Risky. America needs a New Energy Initiative
....9.1 We must end our dependency on Fossil Fuels
....9.2 We've already made changes to reduce, but we must be bolder
....9.3 Everyone must participate in the transition from fossil fuels to Renewables
....9.4 America has made big changes in the past, they can make the change to stop using Fossil Fuels


In my opinion, for a 20-minute Oval Office Address to America, there is indeed a good bit of detail here. He covered all the bases and laid out the right road-map for moving forward. The big points: he lambasted MMS as a failure, called for a TVA-like organization with the Gulf Coast Recovery commission and issued a "Moon-shot" call with Renewable Energy and to end our use of Fossil Fuels.

[shraby]

1. That he did. Methinks there are some tone deaf people.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Robb]

7. "If someone writing for the examiner can call this BS"

...Um, it's you right? :rofl:

[MineralMan]

10. Anyone can write for the Examiner. It's not a real journalistic

enterprise. Did you write that article you seem bent on spamming DU with?

[Tarheel_Dem]

12. ....

:spray:

[lamp_shade]

3. Thanks. This is valuable. Bookmarked.

[ironrooster]

4. a "moon shot" call is meaningless without $$$$$. nt

[berni_mccoy]

9. That's why the Recovery Act included $26 billion in Federal spending for Renewables and Conservation

And from the speech: "Now, there are costs associated with this transition. And there are some who believe that we can’t afford those costs right now. I say we can’t afford not to change how we produce and use energy -– because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security, and our environment are far greater. "

[WeDidIt]

5. Yep, but the media wanted the story to be about them

So that's what they did.

[emulatorloo]

6. thnks for posting. n/t

[MineralMan]

8. From some posts here, it seems like there were two different

speeches: The one President Obama made, and the one the critics think they heard. Your post reflects the one I heard...the one the President made. I'm not sure what the critics were listening to.

[matt819]

11. It doesn't matter

President Obama is in a damned if you do, damned if you don't position. His seeming lack of emotion is seen, by both sides, as a failure of leadership.

And even when he does issue a call to action or the appointment of a special commission for this or that, they are pointless:
-- Given the failure of the 9/11 commission, any future commissions will be tarred (so to speak) with the same brush.
-- Congressional hearings and the like are more of an opportunity for legislators to make speeches and those giving testimony to skirt reality and responsibility.
-- Congress is bought and paid for by corporations and lobbyists.
-- A disturbingly large percentage of Americans seem to be perfectly happy to vote against their own best interests, e.g., down with big government/hands off medicare; big business is the answer/why can't government stop the oil spill, etc.
-- As a nation - and, yes, that is one heck of a broad generalization - we have lost the ability to respond to such calls. Corporations answer only to shareholders, and they don't have much of a long-term perspective. This has resulted in the degradation of our manufacturing base and the outsourcing of millions of jobs. With unemployment and underemployment in the 20%-plus range, people are just a little too concerned about where their next meals are coming from to take the broad view.

During the previous administration, we held out hope that a Democratic administration would turn things around. It hasn't. Torture is still an option. American troops are still dying in Iraq and Afghanistan almost ten years - ten years - after 9/11. Tens of millions are unemployed. The social safety net is eroding at an increasing pace. State and local governments are laying off thousands, cutting funds for infrastructure, education, etc. Notwithstanding the health care legislation, people are still (hog-) tied to jobs because they can't afford to lose their insurance, and those with private insurance are still paying unimagined percentages of their income for it. College graduates are facing the worst job market in the past 30 years, with ridiculously large percentages working in unpaid internships. You get the idea.

[FLPanhandle]

13. Just a counter point to section 4

4. Cleanup has already begun

....4.1 Led by Admiral Allen
Who has demonstrated zero leadership throughout the process and defers to BP management on every decision.


....4.2 Over 30,000 personnel are involved
With a fraction of the number of skimmers; properly laid booms; and an overall lack of equipment

....4.3 17 thousand more National Guard will be activated.
To do what? Without equipment they'll be sitting around getting covered in oil like the wildlife.

....4.4 5.5 million linear feet of boom have been deployed
Almost all improperly laid and maintained

....4.5 Construction approved to build barrier islands
Only after the government fought this and other containment ideas tooth and nail then claims them as victories.


....4.6 Millions of gallons of oil have been recovered or burned
Millions of gallons haven't been.

....4.7 Oil on the shores is being cleaned up
Clean up means you've lost the battle to contain it; containing what's being released should be a priority; also toxic dispersant's may keep some oil off the shores but creates underwater plumes which does more damage to the environment.


....4.8 Claims are being processed
And despite Obama's demand; BP is in charge of this and not nearly enough is being done to help the people directly effected by it.

[berni_mccoy]

14. With no supporting evidence to back up your claims...

you're credibility on your counterpoint is suffering.

You don't consider that there is actually a lack of supplies here as covered here: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/a-looming-shortage-of-oil-boom/

And complaining that there is more oil to burn and capture when millions of gallons have been is simply argumentative for the sake of arguing. Again, there are limited ships and resources to clean up the volume of oil spewed from the volcano of oil at the bottom of the sea.

[FLPanhandle]

15. You supplied even less, so your credibility must really be suffering

But I'll play your game and see how well you support your claims.

....4.1 Led by Admiral Allen
Who has demonstrated zero leadership throughout the process and defers to BP management on every decision.

Here's an example of how much in touch this guy is:
http://www.ufppc.org/us-a-world-news-mainmenu-35/9644-news-after-bp-junk-shot-allen-says-oil-flow-has-stopped.html


....4.2 Over 30,000 personnel are involved
With a fraction of the number of skimmers; properly laid booms; and an overall lack of equipment

You yourself admit this -- thanks.

....4.3 17 thousand more National Guard will be activated.
To do what? Without equipment they'll be sitting around getting covered in oil like the wildlife.

Again, you admit there isn't enough equipment -- thanks.


....4.4 5.5 million linear feet of boom have been deployed
Almost all improperly laid and maintained

Again, you admit it isn't enough and if you haven't seen the video on BP booming, you might want to.


....4.5 Construction approved to build barrier islands
Only after the government fought this and other containment ideas tooth and nail then claims them as victories.

Simple evidence here. The Coast Guard initially denied permission for these; then approved them weeks later after oil had already hit shore.

....4.6 Millions of gallons of oil have been recovered or burned
Millions of gallons haven't been.

You deny this?

....4.7 Oil on the shores is being cleaned up
Clean up means you've lost the battle to contain it; containing what's being released should be a priority; also toxic dispersant's may keep some oil off the shores but creates underwater plumes which does more damage to the environment.

Again, you deny this?


....4.8 Claims are being processed
And despite Obama's demand; BP is in charge of this and not nearly enough is being done to help the people directly effected by it.

Even Obama agrees with me.

[berni_mccoy]

16. I outlined the speech.

The responder provided no evidence to support their counter to the speech. The facts behind the speech are well known.

[HooptieWagon]

17. Its been known for years that MMS was a clusterfuck.

<quote>8. MMS is a failure
....8.1 Salazar did not do enough to fix the MMS
....8.2 MMS will be completely reorganized
....8.3 Influence of oil industry must be completely removed from oversight agencies</quote>




Why hasn't it been fixed? Why does Ken Salazar still have a job?

[berni_mccoy]

18. From the speech:

"When Ken Salazar became my Secretary of the Interior, one of his very first acts was to clean up the worst of the corruption at this agency. But it’s now clear that the problem there ran much deeper, and the pace of reform was just too slow. And so Secretary Salazar and I are bringing in new leadership at the agency -- Michael Bromwich, who was a tough federal prosecutor and Inspector General. And his charge over the next few months is to build an organization that acts as the oil industry’s watchdog -- not its partner. "

Obama agrees with you.

He admits failure to reform on this point and announces a redoubling of effort.

Salazar's employment situation was not the topic of the speech. It remains to be seen if he stays hired. I suspect he will as long as the MMS is properly reformed. If not...

[NJmaverick]

19. K & R!