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The Politics of Disaster, A Commentary By Susan Estrich
Rasmussen Reports ^ | June 19, 2010 | By Susan Estrich

Posted on 06/19/2010 6:37:30 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer

When BP CEO Tony Hayward went to Capitol Hill this week, he got beat up on by all sides.

When the president declared "war" from the Oval Office in response to the continuing spill, he, too, got beat up on by all sides.

Welcome to the politics of disaster.

Imagine if the president, in the first days after the spill, had established a command center in the Gulf, complete with Rahm Emanuel in charge. Like him or hate him, if he's good enough to run the White House, why not put your top guy in charge of your biggest disaster? Pull out all the big shots. Set up the Gulf White House. Daily briefings by Rahm. The president wouldn't need to talk about "kicking ass" on television if Rahm were doing it every day.

Would the oil have stopped because Rahm told it to? Of course not. But would people feel like the president really did care, like they were the No. 1 priority, like heads would roll? Yes.

Had the president and BP stepped up and the oil been stopped, they would have been credited for stopping it. And when the disaster turned out to be a disaster (as disasters usually do), they would have been credited for stepping up and facing it, instead of being blamed for things they could never control.

(Excerpt) Read more at rasmussenreports.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: failure; oil
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1 posted on 06/19/2010 6:37:30 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
Imagine if the president, in the first days after the spill, had established a command center in the Gulf, complete with Rahm Emanuel in charge. Like him or hate him, if he's good enough to run the White House, why not put your top guy in charge of your biggest disaster? Pull out all the big shots. Set up the Gulf White House. Daily briefings by Rahm. The president wouldn't need to talk about "kicking ass" on television if Rahm were doing it every day.

Yeah. Imagine. Imagine this problem could be solved by kicking someone's ass.

Kicking someone's ass right out of the White House would be a good place to start.

2 posted on 06/19/2010 6:41:19 AM PDT by Steely Tom (Obama goes on long after the thrill of Obama is gone)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Ol’ Susie girl is telling the truth. I said the same thing: If I was Prez, within 3 days, I’d have set up a “Gulf Coast White House” in Louisiana or Alabama and governed from there until this thing was resolved.

B. Hussein Obama is just not a leader. Oh, I’m sorry for telling you something you already know.


3 posted on 06/19/2010 6:43:46 AM PDT by no dems (I never thought I could loathe anyone more than the Clintons; enter Barack Hussein Obama.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Nice idea. But the One didn’t want the spill to stop! He wanted it to reach disastrous proportions! The moment it happened he saw a wonderful chance to grab billions from a successful business and destroy it.


4 posted on 06/19/2010 6:44:04 AM PDT by Leftism is Mentally Deranged (leftism: uncurable mental detioration)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
Seems like a pretty vapid article: If Obama had stepped up and taken charge, people would feel better about the spill.

Ummmmmmmmm. Sure. I think that's true.

But he doesn't know how to do that. This is what Republicans (and Hillary Clinton) have said since before the election. The guy has no executive experience. He doesn't know how to do anything. He's built his career on complaining and making other people feel guilty. For a community organizer, this works pretty well. For a president? It's not a good character trait.

5 posted on 06/19/2010 6:45:38 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy
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To: Leftism is Mentally Deranged

You are correct, I believe he is enjoying this crisis and planning to use it for his political agenda, The more people we can make poor, starving, destitute, and desperate, the more they will depend on government, that is the plan.


6 posted on 06/19/2010 6:46:44 AM PDT by eyeamok
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

If pelicans could vote, obama would be packing — not for another vacation but to get his azz out of the White House.

“Pelicans Against Obama”


7 posted on 06/19/2010 6:47:30 AM PDT by boycott (CAL)
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To: boycott

Can someone please post the obligatory vein popping picture of this shrieking harpy


8 posted on 06/19/2010 6:51:49 AM PDT by SanFranDan
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

The Kapos in this White House and the Fuhrer are the disaster in this country.


9 posted on 06/19/2010 6:53:09 AM PDT by ExTexasRedhead (Take back our country on November 2, 2010.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

It’s a good attempt by Susan, but so many pundits — on the left AND right — are missing the Big Picture when it comes to Obama.

The man thinks he’s king by divine right (but not a lot of the great I AM involved here). He choses to see the country as a whole that he can command on a word, rather than a collection of states with independent people and lives. His word should be able to move mountains, as it has most of his life.


10 posted on 06/19/2010 6:54:12 AM PDT by Kieri (The Conservatrarian)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

When the Coast Guard is stopping skimmers to check for life vests you know the response is broken.


11 posted on 06/19/2010 6:55:13 AM PDT by Tribune7 (The Democrat Party is not a political organization but a religious cult.)
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To: SanFranDan

12 posted on 06/19/2010 7:01:30 AM PDT by COUNTrecount (Barry...above his poi grade.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Well, Ms. Estrich...havta ask...has our Dear Leader NOW waived the Jones Act? And do we have knowledgable, experienced, offered, Norwegian and Dutch help on the way?

Huh, do we Susan?

Per the Gibbster, ‘is it bad enough yet?’ to call in outside help???


13 posted on 06/19/2010 7:02:58 AM PDT by PennsylvaniaMom ((((((((((((((((((((PALIN/BACHMANN 2012))))))))))))))))))))
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

These “thoughts” by Estrich (and I use that word so very lightly) are dysfunctionally idiotic on so many levels.

To begin with the start of this Public Disaster was when the Marxist ran for election on the “Yes we Can” & “Hope and Change” pablum that had NO substantive explanation that what it would come to mean is Socialism and Government largess and control.

And, as one who has some 30 years of working in an engineering business, the LAST thing you want is a Theory-X (In Rahm’s case its more like Triple X) leader heading up the team. All stupid bastards like him think are that if he threatens enough people strongly enough that somehow his problems will be solved.

That requires NO technical problem solving thinking whatsoever, and I would argue that dumb asses like that should be kept as far away as humanly possible from anyone trying to develop a technical solution. They will only make something like this MUCH MUCH MUCH worse.

Liberals are so frickin stupid that at times they even amaze me.


14 posted on 06/19/2010 7:05:33 AM PDT by R0CK3T
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

The only thing Americans want to hear right now is - the hole is plugged. Yet all we get is political noise.


15 posted on 06/19/2010 7:06:06 AM PDT by anniegetyourgun
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
The biggest obstacle to handling disasters is the desire of those facing them to believe it won't be so bad.

Oh, I dunno about that...how about the desire to milk a crisis for all it's worth? How about making the disaster worse by active stonewalling and blocking of all efforts attempted by those most effected to limit the damage to themselves and their states?

Susan, put the cigarette down, take a deep breath and open your eyes to the truth. The biggest obstacle is the government: obama's government.

16 posted on 06/19/2010 7:12:28 AM PDT by GBA (Resistance is Constitutional!)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Imagine if the Federal government had helped, instead of hindered, the effort to protect coastal areas.


17 posted on 06/19/2010 7:13:02 AM PDT by A Balrog of Morgoth (QMC(SW) USN........ CG21 DD988 FFG34 PC6 ARS53)
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To: A Balrog of Morgoth
Imagine if the Federal government had helped, instead of hindered, the effort to protect coastal areas.

They did. 0bama sent in the Department of Justice to keep the boot on BP's neck in order to extort a $20b DNC slush fund.

18 posted on 06/19/2010 7:16:52 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer (The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.)
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To: Kieri

ObamaIam he hence forth shall be!


19 posted on 06/19/2010 7:18:55 AM PDT by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: R0CK3T
If they really wanted to fix the problem they would have begged Dick Chaney to take charge. He knows the technology and hr gets things done.
20 posted on 06/19/2010 7:19:23 AM PDT by Old North State (Don't blame me, I voted for Pedro)
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