If you happened to catch Barack Obama's first televised address from the Oval Office and were looking for steady leadership, an end to the gushing oil or common sense managing the cleanup, you were probably very disappointed. Unfortunately for the United States, not only is Obama illegitimate, he's also incompetent, reckless and he represents everything our Founders warned us to abolish; a clear and present danger to our well-being, freedoms and way of life.
If the oil spill is truly the battle, epidemic or siege that Obama alluded to in his metaphorically-loaded speech, then we've lost the war, succumbed to the disease and our fortification has been penetrated, because this speech was a concession to defeat. There was no discussion of any additional efforts by BP, the government, the military or anyone else to try and cap the spill. All he could offer was a promise to collect as much oil as possible until a relief well is on-line, make BP pay and focus on recovery. But, there are serious problems with this particular three-pronged approach.
"I'm From the Government and I'm Here to Help".
Although Mr. Obama struck a hopeful tone when he stated his belief that we'll eventually corral 90% of the leaking oil, the government that he runs is dysfunctional, ideologically-blind, indecisive, and a large part of the problem. Reports of containment boom and other equipment shortages are well-documented, as the 90-year-old Jones Act that likely contributed to the delay in deployment of sufficient skimming vessels and other assets. Unless Thad Allen's Coast Guard specifically told foreign operators that the Jones Act was the reason that they were forbidden, then his assertion that there were no Jones Act waiver requests is a mere half-truth. More than likely, he just declined foreign help. The government also refused help from actor Kevin Costner, whose own centrifuges are now being employed to spin-separate the oil. It was also reported on June 18th that the Coast Guard suspended over a dozen skimming barges because the Coast Guard couldn't properly verify the owners to confirm the vessels had the requisite number of fire extinguishers and life preservers.
Although Obama touted the approval of new barrier islands to try and stop the oil from coming ashore, he ignored the fact that all of this comes only after repeated requests by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and other officials to build up sand berms and other defenses. Sure, the spill now has Obama's full attention, but only two months, several rounds of golf, numerous vacations and gigs with Paul McCartney and Bono after it began.
"It's Not Extortion, It's Encouraging Responsibility".
Obama vowing to make BP pay makes a great sound bite, but I have several problems here and unlike feckless Republicans, I'm not afraid to voice them. BP should and will pay billions for the death and damage it has caused. But, in the process of seeking restitution we must use caution, lest we bankrupt BP, leaving American taxpayers to pay for the cleanup or further driving our economy into the toilet.
The Constitution still matters. The Executive Branch lacks any constitutional authority to "make BP pay" anything. Although they may not read them, Congress makes the laws and the courts litigate, enforce and punish violations of them. Period. Besides being unconstitutional, Obama's "agreement" from Hayward to provide 20 billion in a relief fund does indeed have the unseemly appearance of a shake down. Despite Obama's assertions that the fund would be independently administered by a third-party, he tasked government pay czar and king-maker Kenneth Feinberg to oversee it, hardly an independent watchdog.
Recession, False Recovery, Depression.
Obama justified his extortion of BP by saying we need a
"Long-term plan to restore the unique beauty and bounty of this region", citing "multiple economic disasters, decades of environmental degradation and hurricanes Katrina and Rita." Translation: We need another slush fund to redistribute even more wealth. He's openly shaking down BP to pay for Katrina. He said so.
There is no longer any question that Barack Obama is a socialist. He is so far to the left that even European socialists have terminated their stimuli and are now cutting their budgets while Barry keeps on spending. Our national debt is now projected to be a destructive 130% of GDP by 2015. While he lectures us that we can't consign our children to a future of petroleum pollution, he has absolutely no misgivings about cosigning them to a future of poison politics and economic servitude.
Politics is just as rampant in large corporations as it is in Washington DC. There are just as many "yes" men telling their corporate masters exactly what they want to hear as there are political aides telling the president or members of congress what they want to hear. Although Tony Hayward has been far too cavalier about the damage and death BP has caused and is ultimately responsible, he is indeed being made a scapegoat to take the attention off of the others who may share blame. If you believe last week's Congressional testimony, then the US government failed to properly regulate the construction and operation of that rig, which was built by a foreign corporation, owned by Transocean Corp. and leased to BP, which muddies the question of responsibility, specifically, who made the decision to use the allegedly faulty, cheaper design.
If Barack Obama can hold Tony Hayward responsible for the explosion of that rig because, as CEO, the buck stops with him, then Obama can and certainly should be held fully responsible for the snail's pace of his own response or the multiple failures of leadership over the course of this slow-motion disaster. Like it or not, this disaster has made strange bedfellows, inextricably linking Barack Obama and Tony Hayward. If Hayward resigns or goes to jail, then fair is fair; common decency and American principles of personal responsibility demand that Barack Obama also tender his resignation or go to jail.
