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Should Obama be directly in charge of the oil spill response

Who should be directly in charge?


  • Total voters
    17
The initial assessment, was that 5k barrels per day were spewing. That assessment still stood at the time of the offer for help. It was determined that help was not necessary at the time. Later on, the estimates on the leak were changed and it was determined that help was needed. Now boats are coming in from other countries. Seems simple to me.



I'd fire someone for less a miscalculation. It was incompetence that you described, and no. You wave it and you say yes, and stage them until you need them. The offer was there. he failed. he is still failing as these 13 countries are still on the outside..


what is the excuse on day 58?


The only problem here is that the government was too slow to respond, but that always happens in a new problem. I hate it, but it will always happen as it always has happened, at least as far as I can tell.


Oh well..... :roll:


Seriously this is not good enough. day 58 and he still has not done the right thing.


Why has he not lifted the jones act?
 
I'd fire someone for less a miscalculation. It was incompetence that you described, and no. You wave it and you say yes, and stage them until you need them. The offer was there. he failed. he is still failing as these 13 countries are still on the outside..


what is the excuse on day 58?


I linked an article a while back that told of some foreign boats operating in our waters. It seems its already happening. I would also be rolling heads too. I agree that is something Obama should be doing.


Oh well..... :roll:


Seriously this is not good enough. day 58 and he still has not done the right thing.


Why has he not lifted the jones act?

I agree, its not good enough, but it always happens and I think it would be silly to expect any different. I don't like it, but this is not as simple as a hurricane flooding a city or planes hitting a building.
 
I linked an article a while back that told of some foreign boats operating in our waters. It seems its already happening. I would also be rolling heads too. I agree that is something Obama should be doing.


actually it's foreign equipment on domestic boats.



I agree, its not good enough, but it always happens and I think it would be silly to expect any different. I don't like it, but this is not as simple as a hurricane flooding a city or planes hitting a building.




I can't sit by while this is happening and say cest la vie.... its not like trying to roll school buses or send out fema trailers or whatever. he needs to waive the jones act now. It makes no sense to me why he's not.
 
In your opinion, do you think that Obama should be directly in charge of the oil spill response or should some other organization have that role?

The reason I ask is I keep seeing people saying that Obama is not doing enough, but I don't believe he should be directly in charge. I am curious about other people's views on the matter.

I do not believe it is Obama's responsibility to handle the oil leak. Its first BP's to fix the leak and clean up the mess and fix what ever collateral/financial damage that occurred because of the leak. Then the states and then if it is too much to handle for them then they ask the federal government for help. Then it falls onto what federal agencies whose job description it is to handle clean up. I think this attacking the president over BP is just payback for all the stupid libs who attacked Bush during Katrina.
 
actually it's foreign equipment on domestic boats.

I can't sit by while this is happening and say cest la vie.... its not like trying to roll school buses or send out fema trailers or whatever. he needs to waive the jones act now. It makes no sense to me why he's not.

I will admit, I am not really studied on this issue because, and it may surprise you, I don't really care all that much. So whatever the equipment is, its coming in or in place.

And I agree, heads will need to roll over this, but even with heads rolling and mounds of reforming and preparation for next time. I am quite confident that we will **** it up all over again. I think any agency would, public or private, unless they are practiced at it, like the Dutch.

I do not believe it is Obama's responsibility to handle the oil leak. Its first BP's to fix the leak and clean up the mess and fix what ever collateral/financial damage that occurred because of the leak. Then the states and then if it is too much to handle for them then they ask the federal government for help. Then it falls onto what federal agencies whose job description it is to handle clean up. I think this attacking the president over BP is just payback for all the stupid libs who attacked Bush during Katrina.

I largely agree, but I think the government does bear some responsibility too, if nothing else, for the national interest. However, given the nature of the problem, it does not surprise me that its taking this long and there are things that should have been done better.

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Ultimately though, I think this is unlike a flooding situation or an attack on our soil. We have dealt with floors and our military is constantly drilling to be ready for an attack. This, is a new problem in the sense that the government does not constantly prepare for it (nor do I think they should, this is pretty rare, even if it is devastating) and also it is an engineering problem which are not fixed by throwing people at it like you would a war or a rescue operation. It sucks that it happened, but I don't think its unusual to see what we are seeing under the circumstances.
 
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I'd say Obama or the Federal Government should be in charge except for one reason:

BP will have more opportunities to wiggle their way out of paying the entire bill if they "disagree" with a move the government makes without BP's consent.
 
In your opinion, do you think that Obama should be directly in charge of the oil spill response or should some other organization have that role?

The reason I ask is I keep seeing people saying that Obama is not doing enough, but I don't believe he should be directly in charge. I am curious about other people's views on the matter.


I'd have to see Obama's credentials, where he is an expert on oil spills, before I'd want him in charge of it.
 
This so-called oil spill, a result of lax, oil company biased regulations and rules from our government results in our President having to take over. The tough task will be in persuading enough conservatives to see the error of their ways in trusting big business so much...
Note "conservative", this applies to democrats as well. I think the Liberations will be very quiet here, as they favor small government which results in less regulations ....or no rules.
 
I'd have to see Obama's credentials, where he is an expert on oil spills, before I'd want him in charge of it.

Me too. Which is why I think it is appropriate to delegate this.
 
I'd have to see Obama's credentials, where he is an expert on oil spills, before I'd want him in charge of it.

An interesting thing about being "in charge" of anything..
The man does not have to know anything about the particulars, but he does have to know human nature, and his own limitations...I believe our President does know how to work with people....at least with those willing to cooperate.. Are there any who do not want to clean the oil spill?
 
An interesting thing about being "in charge" of anything..
The man does not have to know anything about the particulars, but he does have to know human nature, and his own limitations...I believe our President does know how to work with people....at least with those willing to cooperate.. Are there any who do not want to clean the oil spill?




how about the 13 countries that offered to help? How well is he working with them?
 
how about the 13 countries that offered to help? How well is he working with them?
Maybe they think it is in their best interest to let the criis grow. It has to develop sufficiently to be used to panic the dumbmasses to get support for his programs. Remember, their moto is 'never waste a good crisis'.

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What about all the states that will be affected by the oil spill? I think state governments should have more power when it comes to the spill along with the federal government and BP. There should be a mix of who is in charge. Personally I think the federal government is failing at this and is way to slow, while state governments would act much faster and more efficiently.
 
The government should only be involved if this were a natural problem, but it is not. Those who are responsible for the leak should deal with it, no one else. Hurricane Katrina was different in that no one could be held responsible, so assistance from the government was justified. We rely too much, and default too much, to the government for everything.

Things like this are what lead to excessive government. The government gets involved in something that is really none of their business, then they create laws and regulations to show the public they are doing something about the problem. Soon enough, it becomes the norm for the government to be involved in the issue. The people who believe the government should be doing something are the problem, and they have been since FDR.

Obama and the government should just stay out of it.
 
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