The press is all over Obama’s ass kicking statement. First, he was criticized for not showing emotion. Then he was chastised for not being angry enough. So now the president has spoken:
“I was down there a month ago, before most of these talking heads were even paying attention to the Gulf,” the president told Matt Lauer in a clip released this evening. “A month ago I was meeting with fishermen down there, standing in the rain talking about what a potential crisis this could be. And I don’t sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar, we talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick.”
Predictably, The Fox and Friends crew took the President to task for saying ‘ass.’ In fact, the word was ‘bleeped’ out. Then they took him to task for trying to be tough, for not doing it sooner, for doing it at all and for doing it late. The the President caught it for faking anger, whatever that means. They went on and on this morning. It was totally amazing how much bashing went on.
Interesting. Why is it that people need to be told how and what to think? I want to hear things for myself. I can figure out what to think and if I can’t, there are places to go ask.
Perhaps it is because this was MSNBC”s inteview.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
What are you talking about? “Why is it that people need to be told how and what to think?”
The opinions on TV?
There have always been opinions on TV and in the papers. Obama is getting criticized for “acting tough” instead of Presidential. He’s not there to “kick ass.” He’s there to coordinate everyone to fix it, and THEN, figure whose ass to kick. Oh, wait, that would mean that his administration must be blameless. That’s why he said that. To reinforce that image. Forget about the fact that none of the procedures in place were activated and that red tape has stopped the states from acting. Rapid action, not lawyers, were needed in the Gulf. Pay no attention to the fact that he blames the Minerals dept. for a “close relationship” with “big oil,” but neglects to mention Rahm Emmanuel’s free apartment in New York paid for by BP and all those donations to Obama….
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
because many pundits modify the target they are talking about, and take many things out of context.
cargo – just look at your comment above – what NY Apartment? Do you mean the DC apartment? Well, that was owned by a CongressWoman and her husband. And yes, the husband some sort of a marketing consultant for BP. But to say that BP paid for the apartment is out of line, I think.
I do not know all the facts behind it to determine if it was all at arms length, but it was not paid for by BP. A rapid response is what is needed – and I thought BP did respond rapidly – but – do we the US, have the remote robots that are needed? Do we have the expertise to deal with this? Personally, I am more and more questioning our ability to respond to any disaster – man made or natural.
Just like in the Upper Big Branch Mine, there were oversights, and the company was trying to cut corners – on the DeepWater Horizon there are reports that the company was trying to cut corners, trying to make a few dollars more in order to answer to wall street, until, it catches up to you. Sometimes, when things go well, we often wonder why we have some procedures in place, because there was never a problem – it gets to the point that we even forget why we have that procedure, and then when something happens, we question why it happened. Like having a bucket of water available when shooting off fireworks – 99 times out of 100, you do not need the bucket, but if the 1 time that you do need the bucket is the one time you did not fill it….
A day late but better than never, on Friday, the Coast Guard Research and Development Center, along with several interagency partners, issued a request from vendors, scientists, government laboratories and nonprofits for ideas on how to stop, contain and clean up the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Adm Allen got his 4th star through Katrina, he’s likely to lose his reputation in defense of Obama over this gulf disaster.
Obama can’t win no matter what he does. He’s an unpopular president paying for the sins of the past plus his own shortcomings.
I don’ necessarily think that Obama is an unpopular president. With his enemies, he is horribly unpopular. Remembr Clinton?
However he is maintaining a 49-50% approval rating. I am going to post an approval rating chart of other presidents on this post for a comparison.
As to the apartment, that wasn’t from some “opionator”, I remembered reading about that in the WPost. Apparently, my memory isn’t clear on it.
As to the response, I’m talking about the assorted booms, fire booms, etc, and the red tape that Jindal had to go through to start making sand barriers.
I don’t believe that President Obama needs to be on hand. He does need to state that red tape will be cut. He does need to come clean with the public. Apparently he knew that the oil would probably be leaking for months from the beginning, but acts surprised and upset that its still not fixed. He needs to treat this like an emergency, not an opportunity. Stopping all drilling is treating this as an opportunity. He’s using this to advance the idea that “drilling is bad”.
And that is why more drilling permits are going to be issued?
Let’s face it, if he went down there in a Superman costume and plugged the gaping hole with Kryponite himself, his enemies would find a reason to bitch and find fault. I would say the same thing about those who bitched and complained about every step Bush took.
You almost make Him sound Christ-like! Go figure!
Chief of Staff Spike Lee.
I was trying for Superman.
Obama’s statement had “CYA” written all over it. It was unnecessarily defensive and childish. He’s the Chief Executive–he needs to be rallying the country, assembling the best minds to find solutions, reassuring the nation while at the same time being realistic and honest about the cleanup timeline. Only a narcissist would worry more about deflecting blame rather than actually providing leadership.
it’s hard for a community organizer-rabble rouser-shakedown artist to evince any leadership ability
There were supposedly contingency plans in place for oil spills (e.g. burning the oil slicks, release of chemical dispersal agents, deployment of oil booms). i would just like an explanation as to why these response plans were not immediately executed.
Good to know the fan club is still here.
You all must be so exhausted being this miserable with a politician. Is everyone out celebrating the Fimian victory or is it a little premature for that?
I am sure Gerry Connolly is doing his victory dance if Fimian has won.
@kelly3406 That’s my number 1 problem–there had to have been a contingency plan. Why wasn’t anything done right away? Why in the early weeks did the administration take BP’s word that the spill could be handled? This was Federal water–where was the otherwise-intrusive EPA?
This all points to the glaring ineffectiveness of national “preparedness.” We learn absolutely nothing with each successive disaster. Maybe duct tape really is the only thing you can really count on after all.
He needs to dance while he still can!
Hey, I wasn’t paying attention…..did WashPo endorse Herrity? I need a good laugh today.
@Moon-howler
One of the things that I have always liked about this blog is its healthy skepticism of politicians on both the left and right. I do not understand why you are so willing to give a pass to the current Oval Office occupant. My question is entirely reasonable. Before the press was in Obama’s pocket (i.e. when Helen Thomas was at least 20 years younger), the Press Corps would have asked the White House the same question, regardless of party affiliation.
PROJECTION 7:30- Keith Fimian defeats Pat Herrity
Don’t know who the Washington Post endorsed if anyone.
Kelly, I probably give a pass to the White House occupant, regardless of who it is, when the enemies are particularly virulent.
I don’t dislike Obama. He does some things good and he does some things I don’t like. I felt the same way about Bush. I felt the bashing just got tiresome and counter-productive.
I probably disliked more that Bush did in the long run but I hated the constant harranging about him that people did.
Back to Fimian….speaking of healthy skepticism….To whom to we attribute the win? Was it the Fairfax County Democrats who saw Fimian as an easier win over Connolly or to the uber cons in Prince William County who wanted their man in regardless on consequences on the November election?
Funny how the national news stations never take the opposite party into consideration in their election analysis.
Kicking ass? How is kicking ass going to solve the leak? How about getting more booms to the area to stop the oil from spreading? Oops. Too late. Miles of containment boom are sitting in warehouses, either because the gov’t won’t buy it or they’re letting BP run things. If letting BP run the cleanup is kicking ass, then, ……….
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/miles-of-oil-containment-boom-sit-in-warehouse-waiting-for-bp-or-u-s-to-use/
Its an expression. re kicking ass.
I have no idea what to do about it. What would you do if you were in charge, Cargo. You are from that area and know the ”lay of the land’ better than the rest of us.
Back to the 11th: What do people think has changed from 2008?
Connolly defeated Fimian by 55 percent to 43 percent in the 2008 election and succeeded retiring Republican Rep. Thomas M. Davis III. Though that tally was not very close, the spread between presidential nominees Barack Obama and John McCain was wider (57 percent to 42 percent).
First, I would declare the area a “disaster area” and mobilize any assets that are available to contain the oil, including private ones. There would be an armada of the appropriate gear.
Second, I would gather the industry leaders, ie Big Oil, and get them to figure out how to fix it. Every company would be involved. According to the news, he hasn’t even talked to the CEO of BP.
Third, I would investigate the cause of the accident. THEN, I would send in the lawyers. Fourth, I would fast track any requests by Governors.
Fifth, I would go before the American people and lay out what I know, and what is being done. I would not wait for news to come out that I was told on day one that the leak might not be fixed for months. I would not blame previous presidents when MY administration had given safety awards to said same rig.
Sixth, I would NOT go on vacation and throw parties. Again.
Saying that he talks to experts to find out “whose ass to kick,” in other words, who to blame is not finding a solution. That he said this in the interview shows where his priorities lay. He wants to lay blame more than he wants to fix it. He appears to want to lay it ALL on BP to fix. That way he can continue to lay blame. He’s voting “present” again. Leaders take action. That knee jerk reaction of shutting down drilling will put thousands out of work, IN ADDITION to the the disaster. Some deep drillers will be moving their operations. This “six month” moratorium will cause many businesses to close.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/06/three_deepwater_drilling_rigs.html
He’s killing the very industry that, oh wait……..that’s right. Oil is bad. He WANTS prices to skyrocket. His words. Not mine.
Where is Jindal on all this? Cargo, your plan sounds good. I don’t know how all that stuff would just be on hand. Of course, I don’t know oil country either.
The entire thing sickens me to look at it. I am not mad at anyone over it…yet. I am just angry that it happened. Generic anger.
You should show the John Stewart “AssQuest 2010″ graphic….”the search for kickable ass!”.
You know the Democrat Donkey symbol? That’s the ass that needs to be kicked.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/steffy/7043272.html
Apparently, its the US bureaucracy that needs its ass kicked.