When you get caught between BP & DC

BP doesn’t know what to do about their blown out oil rig that has millions of gallons of crude oil spuing into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico short of drilling a relief well. DC our all powerful and all knowing government can get their act together and has nothing to offer except photo ops, hearings, and a ban of all drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet.

Everyone agrees that this is a disaster, one that certainly could have been prevented say for the negligence of BP and a refusal of the rig owner to stand up to BP when they pushed them to keep working against the advice of on site professionals. Everyone also agrees that more needs to be done to stop more oil from reaching the shores and cleaning up the oil that has found its way into the estuaries and onto beaches.

We have a lack of leadership in Washington, DC. The Obama administration has failed miserably to demonstrate any kind of competence. Of course since January of 2009 when they assumed control of the White House we’ve seen nothing that would give us a reason to expect otherwise, and I digress. Obviously the government does not have the expertise to resolve the problems caused by this tragedy. However, they do possess the resources to mobilize manpower and materials, and they can cut red tape completely to enable the States and Private Industry to do what is necessary to mitigate the damage to the highest degree possible.

Already the major oil companies with drilling operations have joined together to try to solve the problem. Countless American citizens have offered legitimate ideas to help on a number of fronts in the effort. Offers have been made by other countries to assist with our situation and we have made no effort to give them an opportunity to make a difference.

Tonight the President addressed the nation from the Oval Office on day 57 of the Siege on the Gulf Coast. He had lofty words and then used his speech to promote his Cap and Trade legislation now in Congress. We are not looking for legislation, or fact finding missions, or hearings in the US House or Senate. We are looking for leadership and solutions. Why wasn’t this speech given the first week of the disaster and without political gamesmanship as the center. The President has failed to find the right people to advise him and as a result has failed to grasp the true issues involved. He needs to understand that the people of the Gulf Coast region are under siege from the oil floating in the waters; moreover they are being slapped down from Washington DC by his administration standing in the way.

President Obama at this point needs to leave the clean up to the States. He needs to provide a wide birth for them to bring in whoever is needed both domestically and abroad. He needs to provide whatever Federal asserts maybe asked for and most of all he needs to keep as far away from the problem as possible. He has become the problem and not the answer. The moratorium on drilling needs to be lifted immediately so the people of the Gulf Coast can go back to work and so the long term exploration and exploitation of our natural resources can be done in a safe and environmentally sound manner. Politics needs to stay out of it from now on and science needs to take the lead when it comes to making decisions that involve the livelihood of Gulf Coast residents and our National Security.

BP on the other hand needs to get to work. They need to open up any and all records for complete review. BP needs to come clean about what happened and take seriously the offers of all others to help. BP needs to provide the States with the ability to run a claims program and distribute monies to all those who have been legitimately damaged.

The people of the Gulf Coast need not to be trapped between BP and DC for another day. BP and DC need to do what is necessary to make things happen in a constructive and positive manner. BP and DC need to commit themselves to solving the problem with the States.