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I think it added credibility. Obama is the President. With a stroke of the pen, he could have sent a couple of carrier strike groups to add their vast resourc

I think it added credibility. Obama is the President. With a stroke of the pen, he could have sent a couple of carrier strike groups to add their vast resources of nuclear electricity and machine shops and freight, suspended all environmental regulations regarding deep water oil skimmers unless supported by clear evidence of harm, and so forth. A strong practical leader like Teddy Roosevelt or Ike would have moved heaven and earth to solve the problem. Instead we got Operation Boot on the Neck.

grandalf 16y ago
Do you honestly think that if Obama were the sort of guy who'd do those things that he would have been elected? No president has ever stood up to an industry as powerful/influential as the modern oil industry (and none ever will).
- Daniel_Newby 16y ago
  Yes! There is enormous demand for actual leadership, as evidenced by the Tea Parties. The problem is that Obama is standing up to the oil industry. He could have gone to the industry execs and boards with no shame and asked "Who do I have to blow to plug this epic environmental disaster? Who do I have to pardon?" Instead he put His Boot on BP's Neck, and put together a relief fund with opaque management. And the well still leaks, and enormous numbers of people and machines sit idle.
  - grandalf 16y ago
    The tea parties are a very small movement and it is not my impression that they are seeking some sort of "strong man" leader type. Each of the top 4 GOP candidates in 2008 ran as a strong man and none was elected. Obama, meanwhile, won in the same way George W. Bush did in 2000 -- as an unproven Frodo Baggins type who inspired people who hoped he'd fill the shoes they imagined for him. If Obama were serious about the issue he'd be talking about stopping offshore drilling. Instead he's singling out BP as if there is some sort of gross negligence rather than just a low probability / high impact outcome happening.

grandalf 16y ago

Do you honestly think that if Obama were the sort of guy who'd do those things that he would have been elected? No president has ever stood up to an industry as powerful/influential as the modern oil industry (and none ever will).

Daniel_Newby 16y ago
Yes! There is enormous demand for actual leadership, as evidenced by the Tea Parties. The problem is that Obama is standing up to the oil industry. He could have gone to the industry execs and boards with no shame and asked "Who do I have to blow to plug this epic environmental disaster? Who do I have to pardon?" Instead he put His Boot on BP's Neck, and put together a relief fund with opaque management. And the well still leaks, and enormous numbers of people and machines sit idle.
- grandalf 16y ago
  The tea parties are a very small movement and it is not my impression that they are seeking some sort of "strong man" leader type. Each of the top 4 GOP candidates in 2008 ran as a strong man and none was elected. Obama, meanwhile, won in the same way George W. Bush did in 2000 -- as an unproven Frodo Baggins type who inspired people who hoped he'd fill the shoes they imagined for him. If Obama were serious about the issue he'd be talking about stopping offshore drilling. Instead he's singling out BP as if there is some sort of gross negligence rather than just a low probability / high impact outcome happening.