I’d say it’s more like Obama’s Chernobyl. His obvious disinterest in the whole affair, lack of compassion for the victims, and endless refusal to take BP to task are curious indeed, especially for a seasoned politician.
Contrast Obama’s remote, professorial approach with that of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal who passionately cares about the Gulf Coast and overtly blames BP and the US government for stonewalling and refusing to take action.
I think there is a whole bunch of stuff going on here. Some good, some bad, some stupid. The problem is that the government taking over wouldn’t get it done any better and maybe worse since they have no clue about deep sea drilling and the oil companies are the only ones with even moderate knowledge – even after the lies. The other thing is that the administration is doing stuff but as usual – they are not advertising it. The same thing that nearly destroyed the healthcare bill and made it less of a bill than it could have been, is the administration’s inability to get their story told.
There is also this belief by people that everything must be in a fishbowl. Why do people think that the president reaming the ceo of BP should be done on national TV with commentators? Just because we haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. I think the American people need to get a cohesive plan going of their own to let BP know the game is up and can never be played by their rules again. Whether that means forcing their stock to tank or buying it up and controlling the company by voting the ceo and board out unless they do as they are told.
I think BP will eventually either go bankrupt or be so weakened that another major will buy them. The oil industry may have changed forever.