Obama's Gulf Oil Nightmare

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright June 2, 2010
All Rights Reserved.                                

              Taking a hit in the polls, President Barack Obama’s approval ratings have sunk rapidly along with British Petroleum, whose April 20 Gulf Oil spill shows no signs of a letting up.  Failure-after-failure has characterized BP’s efforts to cap the geyser spewing into the Gulf 5,000 ft. below sea level.  Far surpassing the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker spill,.the Gulf spill has rapidly become the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.  What frustrates Gulf Coast residents and businesses most is government’s sheer helplessness, while BP repeatedly fails to cap the well, now believed spewing up to 19,000 barrels or around 798,000 gallons a day.  BP’s latest “top kill” fix, pouring 1.2 million gallons of mud on Deep Horizon’s “blowout preventer” didn’t work.  Calling the Gulf oil spill “a man-made disaster,” Obama can only watch helplessly, as the government has no answer to the problem.

            Obama’s approval ratings have suffered because the public places blind faith in the government, especially when it comes to natural and man-made disasters.  Former President George W. Bush’s approval ratings suffered from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s clumsy response to managing Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  Governments take more blame for preventable man-made disasters, since there’s more control than Mother Nature.  No one blamed Iceland’s government for the recent volcanic eruption, disrupting air-traffic to North America and Northern Europe.  Man-made disasters carry far more blame, since human error and poor contingency planning factor into BP and government’s inadequate response.  While no one expected BP’s Deepwater Horizon to blow up, responsible oil companies drilling in deepwater should have better emergency plans.

            Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has called on Congress to probe possible criminal charges against London-based British Petroleum.  Markey wants to know why BP didn’t have better failsafe or backup controls while drilling in deepwater.  “This is probably the biggest environmental disaster we have ever faced in this country,” White House top energy advisor Carol Browner told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”  White House officials face the unenviable task of trying to stay on top of the crisis, while, at the same time, getting something done.  When BP started its vaunted “top kill” procedure Thursday, high hopes were registered.  BP’s Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles raised high hopes before admitting “we have not been able to stop the flow,” indicating they were activating another contingency plan.  “We have made the decision to move on to the next option,” launching a new fix.

            Calling the next plan the “Lower Marine River Package,” Suttles said BP would send a robotic submersible to cut off the well’s riser and cap it with a “containment valve.”  Suttles new plan didn’t stop Markey from considering a criminal probe.  “I think without question if the word criminal should be used in terms of an environmental crime against our country, that what’s going on in the Gulf of Mexico is going to qualify,” said Markey on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”  BP’s managing director Robert Dudley told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that it would take around a week to know whether the “Lower Marine River Package” would work.  He indicated that drilling a relief well, a process that could take until August, was underway, a more certain long-term fix to cutting off the current oil flow.  “There could be oil coming up until August,” said Browner on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” preparing the nation for the worst-case scenario.

            Since BP’s CEO Tony Hayward placed the chance of the top kill procedure’s success at 60-70%, his credibility dropped to below sea level.  With the midterm elections approaching, the lack of progress hurts Democrats, much the same way Hurricane Katrina hurt Republicans before the 2006 midterms.  Watching close-up shots of black sludge covering plants, birds and marine life on the Gulf’s pristine coastline hurts White House credibility heading into November’s elections.  :Even the government seems powerless and all the experts.  If these people can’t stop it, then who in the name of God can?” said Father Gerry, a priest at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Port Sulfur, La., mirroring the kind of frustration now directed at the White House.  No one expects Barack to fix the leak himself but there’s widespread disappointment over the government’s feckless response.

              Continued failures by BP to cap the Deepwater Horizon well has now contaminated White House credibility.  While the oil could indeed flow until August, Obama needs to act decisively to provide disaster relief to Gulf Coast residents and business.  White House officials must get an immediate billion dollar cash infusion from BP for disaster relief.  Clean-up funds should come from BP, not the U.S. Treasury.  “While we may not be able to plug the leaking well right away, there’s nothing that should stop us from getting help to the Gulf Coast immediately,” said Sen. Mary Landrieux (D-La.), urging BP to pony up the cash.  BP CEO Tony Hayward must make a good faith gesture and place at least $1 billion in an escrow account for immediate relief to Gulf Coast residents and businesses.  Without that initial gesture, Markey should pursue criminal charges.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.