Posted on 05/25/2010 5:14:59 AM PDT by shortstop
It’s not Obama’s fault.
It’s not British Petroleum’s fault.
It was just an accident. And everyone is doing everything they can to stop the leak and clean up the mess.
That’s the truth, and fair-minded people ought to be willing to acknowledge it.
But few are.
Instead, the explosion of an oilrig in the Gulf of Mexico is being seen through exclusively political eyes as factions jockey to play the mishap to their political and philosophical advantage.
The Marxists in the administration and the Democratic Party crucify BP as the representative of the capitalism they hate. Republicans crucify Barack Obama and his administration, hoping to turn this into their political Katrina.
No one seems truly concerned about the leak or the damage it might cause, though they address the evening news through crocodile tears and with ever-more-dramatic rhetoric.
It is not a catastrophe, it is a game being played to political advantage. The liberals want to twist it into a weapon to use against corporations and the petroleum industry. The conservatives want to twist it into a weapon to use against Barack Obama and the dolts in his party and administration.
I am a conservative Republican, and I see Barack Obama as a great danger to the United States. On Thursday, his party gelded our banking and financial industry, hurting our economy for years to come. On Friday, he announced big-truck mileage standards that will make transporting everything in our economy significantly more expensive. On Saturday, he told the Corps of Cadets that American defense policy should be made in cooperation with foreign powers, in harmony with a new world order. In my book, there’s no shortage of things to condemn Barack Obama for.
But this isn’t one of them.
He’s not in bed with the oil companies. He’s not uncaring of the environment. He has not blown off his duties in regard to the oil spill.
And neither has British Petroleum.
The company has worked tirelessly, resourcefully and expensively. It is trying everything humanly possible and working as fast as it can.
There are no bad guys in this.
There was just a terrible accident.In an unprecedented malfunction, an oil platform blew up, redundant protections failed and oil has billowed into the sea. To the best of our technology, the mishap was unforeseeable and unpreventable. We may know more going forward, based on what we have learned in this experience, but going in we were doing everything right.
And the astoundingly successful safety record of the American offshore oil industry proves that. There are hundreds and hundreds of platforms pulling oil out of the seabed, to the great benefit of our country and economy, and they do so without a glitch.,p>
This has never happened before, it is uncharted territory.
And the company and the government have responded the best way they knew how. Nobody was trying to hurt anyone, nobody was being negligent, everyone did their best.
Have they gotten everything right?
Of course not. That’s not human nature.
And perhaps BP should have better predicted the obstacle freezing oil sludge would be at such depths. And probably the government was too quick and too extensive in its fishing bans. Perhaps the feds should have moved more quickly to approve state measures to build temporary sandbars.
But hindsight’s 20/20.
And political sniping is cheap.
And this isn’t a commentary on Democrats or Big Business, this is a problem that faces us all and demands the best of each of us and all of our factions. The company and the federal government will need to work together to tackle this mess. Finger pointing and skapegoating, along with political grandstanding, have no place in this.
British Petroleum and the federal government are together making it up as they go along, hoping that their innovation and effort can rise to the challenge of this situation.
They both should be encouraged – and even prayed for – instead of attacked in the name of a political agenda.
I am grateful for what BP has done, and I am grateful for what the federal government has done. And I hope soon their efforts can bear fruit.
But I recognize this disaster for what it is: A terrible accident.
It’s not Obama’s fault.
It’s not British Petroleum’s fault.
It’s just an accident.
exactly. I wonder what Bob Lonsberry had to say about Katrina
Unless of course it was sabotage perpetrated by the North Koreans (puppet of the ChiComs) and it was a just a test run for future attacks.
Obammie the Commie certainly has shown what a great leader his with his response to this mess. Have a good golf game, you brat.
I just dont know why this hasnt happened before now. With thousands of these rigs in the Oceans it is a miracle it hasnt happened before.
Of course this accident isnt anyone’s fault, but the idea’s to stop such a disaster when it did happen, should have been somewhere in the plans of those who do the drilling and those who’s duty it is to see that it is done right.
BP has a lot to answer for. It’s obvious that they knew the Anti blow back device was not operational. This company has a history of this kind of disregard for safety. We need to drill off shore so it is absolutely essential that the oil companies not give liberals the excuse to shut it down. BP is a miserable failure and they should be banned from drilling in the gulf or any where else where a responsible corporation is required!
i suppose the dems had no idea what legs the katrina blame game was going to have. for every action is there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Healthcare, race, immigration, national defense, Israel, automobiles, finance...all now matters of partisan politics.
So who can be surprised that an oil spill is political first and foremost?
“It’s not anybody’s fault” sounds suspiciously like the rationalization we accuse the left of. I don’t buy it that no one is culpable here. Corners were definitely cut and those parties should be held accountable.
They will eventually blame the eleven dead oil workers...............
BS, BL! BO + BP in BED.
“I just dont know why this hasnt happened before now. With thousands of these rigs in the Oceans it is a miracle it hasnt happened before.”
IT HAS:
http://home.versatel.nl/the_sims/rig/i-blowout.htm
It’s true. Obama did his best. Which was nothing.
Broken clock syndrome.
NO approved blowout plan approved by the OBAMA government before they started drilling and BP cheaped out on the BOP they used!
2. The accident occurred partially due to lack of controls and oversight from the Federal government. Apparently they were too busy meddling in the affairs of the states and private citizens to do what they are really supposed to do.
3. The oil spill / slick has grown, because 0bamao and his regime couldn't have cared less about the plight of a bunch of hard working Americans, so they casually sat on their arses.
4. The Gulf will likely become a "Dead Zone" for decades. Those who previously enjoyed recreational activities there, or gained their livelihood from fishing, etc. are SOL and had better find other employment.
Yes, it was an accident.
But doing nothing for over a month while the oil inched ever closer to the shores is Obama’s fault. Every last drop of it.
If the Gulf States have no plan to protect their beaches it’s time they woke up and figured out that Obama is not a man of action, but rather inaction.
His history of voting PRESENT ought to have clued them in over a year ago.
BS
Lonsberry’s lost his mind
It is LEADERSHIP’S responsibility to fix broken things. The Zero leadership experience is telling right now with Obama.
It is no less than hand-wringing, abrogated LEADERSHIP, Mr Lonsberry.
Wake up and grow up! Quit trying to make everything about political gamesmanship between 2 parties. This is so clearly a leadership deficit that it would take only a politically motivated operative to say that it isn’t.
Lonsberry realizes that all previous administrations are guilty of neglect in coming up with plans for dealing with such things, and he thinks his party will get a black eye if the fighting starts. He’s right. They should.
But those who are interested in the nation and not the interests of their political party see this for what it is: the inability of an inexperience political hack to get off the dime.
Yes it is.
It’s not British Petroleum’s fault.
Yes it is.
It was just an accident. And everyone is doing everything they can to stop the leak and clean up the mess.
It was an accident waiting to happen and Obama acted against early preventative measures.
That’s the truth, and fair-minded people ought to be willing to acknowledge it.
No it isn't and only lying Obama sycophants are peddling this crap. The RATs (green weenies) caused the spill by forcing deep water drilling.
Obama could have allowed the slick to be ignited early on...but no.
Obama could have allowed the use of hay cannons early on...but no.
He needed a perfectly good crisis which he had planned to not let go to waste.
Now the big mess is washing ashore in the Gulf causing billions of dollars of damage.
He richly deserves and should be forced to wear this one.
My issue is that there were certain decisions that led up to this “accident”.
Why did the rig explode? This is a sign that there was a blowout of gas. Oil alone does not explode. It burns, but not easily.
Why was there a blowout of gas? If there was a lack of drilling mud, or if it was of insufficient density, this could happen. 90 years of drilling would lead one to think that these sophomoric mistakes would not occur.
The BOP failed. I am not an expert, and I am really out of my element when it come to deep water wells, but the BOP is the most crucial part of any well, and I cannot remember when one failed. They are simple (relatively) and robust, with 2 and sometimes 3 backups. When hurricanes blast these off shore rigs and even sink them, the primary reason there is no leak is due to the BOP. There is a type of BOP called an annular which is used to test well integrity and pressure and is activated regularly to perform these and other tests. It HAD to have worked within the week before the accident.
I cannot believe that this “just happened”. There is a reason, and someone has the answers.
Nothing happens in a vacuum. Nothing.
Why doesn’t Mr Lonsberry address the fact that Obama received more campaign donations from BP than any other candidate? What about BP’s lack of mandatory inspections over the last year?
BS. Obama has been sitting on his hands for the last month doing absolutely nothing but complaining that BP hasn't done anything.
More than a decade ago (after Exxon Valdez) Congress gave the President DICTATORIAL POWERS to deal with this kind of emergency and as president he could have marshalled the navy, the coast guard, the Army Corps (pronounced corpse) of Engineers, and basically forced every oil company within 200 miles of this spill to gather their equipment and help with the problem or lose their gulf oil leases. He could have called out the national guards of all the gulf states to ensure enough manpower to begin clean up operations and to build protective barriers. He could have called out an army of environmental voluteers and even high school students and whatever else he wanted to do.
But Obama has no leadership qualities and he is more interested in turning this country into a socialist utopia than he is in protecting this nation against disasters or invasions.
Obama has done nothing but read from his teleprompter and blame BP for everything ("We have our boot on their neck"). We have 2 1/2 more years of this coming.
America voted.
It’s just an accident.
I agree that is was an accident, however, the aftermath perhaps could have been prevented. In as such devices could have been put in place as a preventative measure. Someone at BP didn’t do enough due diligence. I know it sounds like redundancy but those fine folks who keep internet sites up and running do it by having a back up plan. Seems like no back up plan existed - I’m just sayin’
The Laura Ingrams of the right are making a very bad mistake insisting that the government, run by Obummer, the Marxist now posing as a Fascist, should fix the runaway well.
The Coast Guard has officially stated that the government does not have the equipment or the know how to fix it.
They said in their announcement that they must rely on BP because they are the only outfit that can fix it.
Pray that Obummer, the Marxist now posing as a Fascist, will leave it up to BP.
As for BP being punished for taking “the cheap way” to protect against blow outs, I suspect they have learned their lesson and that all of the others in the industry are taking heed.
I read that BP is spending $100 million every day as a result. Also imagine how many millions in lost oil they are losing every day.
Maybe something like $1.5 million in oil lost that could have otherwise been sold?
The numbers may not be correct, but the picture is clear that BP is getting a bitter lesson in more ways than one.
Big corporations are not kind to managers that make mistakes of this magnitude.
Shalom.
That is a GREAT paragraph.
It’s not a disaster until the two drama queens from FOX show up.
Despite what the media will beat in to our heads, the lazy do nothing about it for over 35 days IS OBAMA’S FAULT.
But there was a lesson learned, do not disturb Obama’s golf games..eh?
Of course if Bush was in charge, it would be Bush’s fault. And while 0bama isn’t directly responsible for the oil slick, he has bungled beyond all imagination the cleanup process.
BULL $%^&
This is 1000000000000000% OBAMA’s FAULT!!!!!!!!!!!
exactly.
The zero is once again an epic fail!
No one at fault? You have BP basically bribing Obama officials to look the other way and then the resulting explosion is “just an accident?” It used to be that both the briber and the bribee would be at fault.
Indeed. Thanks for the ping!
Any improprieties by either BP or the government should be rooted out, exposed, and remediated.
Just as soon as the well is under control.
In the meantime, deal with the problem at hand.
It has happened before. Look up the Ixtoc 1 blowout, just for starters.
You are so right!!!
This has happened several times before. The worst was by Pemex in the Gulf of Mexico, 1979.
The only difference this time appears to be media hype and hysteria.
... as well as the booms and such being under control of a slow to react government.
If you like obamacare, please insist on obamagulfcare.
All Obummer, the Marxist now posing as a Fascist, should do is give the Navy instructions that they must respond to any BP request, regardless of cost or difficulty.
And go to the ceremony at Arlington.
It would probably better to have an oil man in charge than someone who doesn't know anything about anything.
sorry... considering the timing, and the lack of response, i would put this square at the feet of 0bama and crew.
i don’t know if he had anything to do with making it happen, although i don’t believe in coincidences when it comes to conveniently timed political events... but the response, or complete lack there of, is definitely all 0bama.
his lack of action to contain the spill is allllll his
of course, they would like to make sure no one is to blame... because people are starting to see the lack of response.. and 0bama and crew are getting worried they may lose control of it... the blame that is
Please stop with the exaggerations. The 1979 Pemex Ixtoc in the Gulf was worse for oil released and had far less cleanup and containment. The death of the Gulf didn't happen then and won't now.
Since neither BP or the 0bamao regime appears to be telling the truth about the amount of oil released, how do you know?
Because while I was getting my engineering degree I was required to pass fluid mechanics, along with a couple decades working in the oil/gas industry.
There is a couple miles of casing that oil/gas have to travel. It cannot flow some of these ridiculously huge claims.
Was there a “Katrina Commission” 3 weeks after it happened...anyone know?
...”4. The Gulf will likely become a “Dead Zone” for decades.”...
No way. I propose that this is not close to the amount of nitrates that flow into the Gulf from the Mississippi River, creating a “dead zone” off the Delta. The materials eventually become diluted so the low-oxygen zone eventually tails off.
The oil spill is a terrible thing, I agree. But, I believe people need to try to put into perspective the volume of oil that will be released compared to the volume of water in the Gulf of Mexico. Not even remotely close. Then, further contextualize it to the Caribbean and the Atlantic, into which it surely will spread. Further dilution will occur so that it is difficult to conceive of it in ppm or some other measure. Oil companies have been spilling oil for decades, maybe multiples of decades. The oceans have recovered, they will again.
Until they get it capped, I don’t think a good estimate can be made. I certainly don’t believe anything the 0bamao regime says, and of course BP has a vested interest in minimizing the figure.
#1 yes, but it was still an accident.
#2 not clear if ‘lack of controls’ was the problem.
#3 partly true, but BP is taking the lead on cleaning up. Feds could be more proactive (viz Jindhal’s critique)
#4 is false. Worse spills have happened and things recovered a lot faster than decades. if capped soon it wont be as bad as you assume..
Janet Incompetano has once again shown her incompetence. 0bamao's regime just seems a little too cozy with BP, both before and during this crisis.
Though BP is taking the lead in the cleanup, don't fool yourself, the consumer is the one who will pay and yet there seems to be a lot of apologists for Big Oil.
Obama's negligent and ineffectual response to the spill is no accident.
Where's our "free" press when this President should be grilled about his lack of leadership?
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