Did The Oil Spill Become President Obama's Katrina?

As the sun rose over the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010 no one could have predicted the effect ,the events of that day,would have on the Nation, it's People and the Presidency. It may well be remembered as a pivotal day in American History. Only time will tell.

On that day the British Petroleum Drilling rig "Deepwater Horizon" exploded and burned taking the lives of 11 crew members. Within 48 hours the burned out rig sank in the mile deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico and while this could have been the end of a very tragic story it , unfortunately, was just the beginning. The nightmare that was to unfold would soon affect four states and literally millions of Americans and, perhaps, their very economic existence.

When the rig sank the automatic shutoff procedures for capping the well failed. The wellhead, as a result of this shutoff failure, was not secured and the flow of oil continued unabated pouring, explosively out the ruptured pipe, into the water nearly a mile below the surface of the Gulf. On April 22 BP announce that no oil was leaking from the severed pipe. This was quickly followed up with an announcement from the Coast Guard confirming that "it appeared" that no oil was leaking from the well head.. These optimistic pronouncements proved to be "in error".The pipe was, indeed, ruptured and heavy crude oil along with natural gas under very high pressure was pouring out of the pipe into the surrounding water nearly 5000 feet beneath the surface of the Gulf.

Now, almost, 60 days later and after several attempts to stop the flow we learn that the amount of oil escaping into the water has been wildly underestimated or, as many suspect,,purposely under reported. While the early estimates of 1000-5000 barrels were obviously "spin" by BP we have gone from a low estimate of 12,000-19,000 barrels a day to a high of 80,000-120,000 barrels a day. As of June 15 the new estimates have settled in at 35,000 - 60,000 barrels a day or the equivalent of an Exxon Valdez disaster every 5-7 days.

The coastal states of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida are all being coated in oil and the vast bulk of the spill has yet to make landfall.As of mid June 40% of the Gulf fishery is closed putting thousands out of work while destroying livelihoods and countless businesses. So far approx 140 miles of prime, tourist area, shoreline in the states affected have been polluted with oil. There are some estimates that put the potential spill heading for the shores of the Gulf states at several million "BARRELS", not gallons, of thick crude oil.. The fishing industry is devastated . the tourism industry will also suffer disaster and the delicate habitat for millions of birds and animals throughout the coastal areas of these states are in danger of being destroyed and all the wildlife and their habitat totally wiped out.

In the early days of the disaster the oil company responsible "BP" or British Petroleum Global took the lead and the Government remained in the background letting BP "run the show". While many citizens were confused by the lack of action of the government in the beginning it was explained that current US law not only makes it clear that the Oil Company is responsible for the clean up the law actually puts the oil company "in Authority" of the clean-up. In other words BP calls the shots not the Government. The United States Coast Guard does offer assistance ,and is involved in an advisory capacity ,in the overall supervision and control of the clean-up but BP is in charge of the containment and clean-up plan and the implementation of that plan. The government plays back-up in this scenario. This proved to be unacceptable to the American public and they demanded their government take charge. The Obama Administration issued a Presidential decree and the roles were reversed. While BP remained in the lead attempting to stop the flow the government was in tactical charge of the disaster. The fact that neither BP or the Government had any experience in dealing with a well blowout under 5000 feet of water has become quite apparent.

As the extent of the disaster became more apparent to the American people they began looking to their leaders for guidance and help. In the beginning the response, from the government, echoed the BP line that the spill was not that large and the plan to stop the flow was being worked on . President Obama was kept abreast of the developments in the gulf but he, in the early days, took a hands off approach preferring, instead, to let the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar take the lead and deal with the press. This approach proved to be "problematic" for the President and he is now trying to recover the initiative and take the lead himself. It may be too late and the damage to his legacy and Presidency may have already passed the point of recovery.

In times of great stress and turmoil Americans look to their leaders for strength, stability, comfort, and perhaps most of all reassurance. They want to know that everything is going to be all right. They want their President to reassure them that the situation is under control and he or she is protecting them and looking after them and will see the them through any crisis. It appears, now, that the public's perception is that Barack Obama was not there quickly enough at the beginning of the crisis and when things began to worsen he was slow to react and even slower to acknowledge the desperation of the people who were being so severely affected by this crisis.

What they wanted from him was leadership. They wanted to see him leading from the front but he simply wasn't there and the consequences will , I suspect, be severe for him and his government. A President depends on his team of advisers to help formulate positions on a variety of issues and make recommendations for possible actions. President Obamas' team let him down and have placed his legacy in danger of being tarnished by events that were not of his making. A President's legacy has always been subject to his personalty and how he handles himself in a crisis. The solving of a crisis is of course important to any Presidents legacy but equally important is how he appeared to handle himself during it. President Obama has a serious problem here and convincing the people to give him a second chance will be difficult.

Barack Obama was not responsible for the BP "accident" nor could he be expected to solve the problems immediately. The American people understand the situation. They know the way forward will be difficult and long and there will be many tough days ahead before we get to the conclusion of this disaster.They don't expect him to have all the answers but they do expect him to lead them through to the other side. They expect their President to be there to help and to let them know everything will be alright. He missed that opportunity and he is scrambling now to try and refocus and recapture the initiative he may have lost. As President he is "in the chair". Harry Trueman had a plaque that read "The Buck Stops Here". President Obama has used that line in his own speeches before. He understand's that with the position goes a great deal of responsibility, Many are now suggesting the oil spill will be his Katrina. They may be right.

The similarities between President Obama dealing with the oil spill crisis and President Bush dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are striking. While Obamas supporters will tell anyone who is willing to listen that the situations are totally different they are, as time goes on, having a hard time getting anyone to buy that argument. What these "spin doctors" refuse to accept is that the people did not blame George Bush for Katrina, nor did they blame him for the levees failing and flooding the city of New Orleans. They blamed President Bush, for the absolute appalling failure of the FEMA leadership in the hurricane's aftermath. What happened in New Orleans was ,in many people's opinions, criminal and the responsible officials should have been held to account and thrown in jail. The citizens of the gulf states were abandoned by FEMA and, in their minds, by their government and that anger was, rightly, directed at President Bush. He accepted the responsibility and part of his legacy will always reflect the mistakes and failures of the response to Hurricane Katrina.

President Obama, will feel the same wrath and disappointment of the people, as his predecessor did, if he cannot turn this thing around. This disaster is happening to, basically, the same region and to many of the same people. They lived through the despair of waiting for government help that for many never came. They are now waiting for President Obama to come and help them....will they wait in vain again or will this President get in the fight and do what needs to be done for the people, for the country and for his own legacy. The next six months should be very interesting.