Obama Starting to Assert Himself in the Gulf

Portrait of a pensive President Barack Obama in the oval office, 06/10/10. (photo: John Shinkle/Politico)

 

Reader Supported News | Perspective

t's not clear if BP has run out of gas, or if the Obama administration has run out of patience, or both, but one thing is clear, the White House is showing a much more hands-on approach to managing the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

As worst-case-scenario estimates for oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill approach 100 million gallons (5 to 10 time the size of the Exxon Valdez spill), there now appears to be a growing sense of resolve on the part of the White House and the Coast Guard that saving the Gulf may be up to them.

Nonetheless, one problem for which there is no current solution is that the United States of America has no capacity to repair a broken pipe a mile beneath the sea. BP has better equipment than the US government, but thus far, not good enough. Worthy of note is that none of this was adequately taken into consideration at the time the decision to drill for oil at such depths was made. Oil dependence having reached addictive proportions, we have relegated good judgment to the back burner.

Evidence of the depth of our dependence on corporate energy is on full display with politicians like Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu calling for renewed drilling even as the worst environmental disaster in US history rages with no end in sight. It is an abject lesson in how far the concept of "live for today" can be taken.

There are three signs of life from the Obama administration that may signal a greater willingness to take control of the situation in the Gulf.

Obama has proposed that BP would set aside billions of dollars in a trust fund to address the claims of those affected by the disaster. It's a bold move, and if Obama succeeds Gulf residents will fare far better than the victims of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.

Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, who has appeared up until now only nominally in command of the situation, has now at least a drawn a line - however faint - in the sand of the Gulf beaches. On Friday, Allen issued a 48-hour deadline for BP to come up with another, more aggressive plan, for stopping the flow of oil into the Gulf. At least we will have the opportunity to see what Admiral Allen will do on Monday morning if a plan is not in place.

Obama appears to have experienced a personal moment of transcendency on America's energy future. In three short months he has gone from a seeming acceptance of the drilling status quo with his approval of new drilling along the Atlantic seaboard, to a somber rededication of his presidency to finding a "new way of doing business when it comes to energy."

This week Obama will travel for the third time to the Gulf of Mexico. If he is ever going to, as Spike Lee suggested, "Go off," this may be the moment.

Marc Ash was formerly the founder and Executive Director of Truthout, and is now founder and Editor of Reader Supported News.

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