Jun 30 2010

President Obama’s “Deer In Headlight” Moment

Published by at 6:35 am under All General Discussions

Update: Reader Tarpon has some excellent observations regarding EPA rules to oil spills, which someone should have been reading in the White House months ago:

Yep, Obowma should have read the EPA oil spill emergency plan — Contain the spill at the well, time is of the utmost urgency. And they further state, ‘at all costs keep the oil off the beaches and out of the estuaries’.

EPA and NOAA — First line of defense ‘fire booms; which the government was supposed to have on hand for just such an emergency — But had none, zip, zero, nada one fire boom.

And now the EPA is turning away skimmers that cannot meet the 15 ppm water discharge, as if the pelicans wouldn’t be happy with 99.9% filtration.

Yep, all there in black & white – end update

Our young and inexperienced President has failed America – and this planet. His community organizing skills are no match for a massive international business conglomerate (who was also one of his biggest campaign donators) and their tragic string of mistakes and cover ups in the now infamous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Harsh? Maybe – but factually accurate.

Mr. Obama let his ‘big oil’ donator try and cover up their mistake instead of pushing them aside and taking control of the disaster when it was manageable. And now there is a swath of ecosystem death in the  waters of the Gulf of Mexico and along its shores. Community after community is in financial ruin from a mess that now cannot be contained, nor corrected for years to come.

On day 71 of the spill, the bloated and lethargic Obama administration has finally got around to determining we need help from our international brethren in dealing with this catastrophe:

The United States is accepting help from 12 countries and international organizations in dealing with the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The State Department said in a statement Tuesday that the U.S. is working out the particulars of the help that’s been accepted.

The identities of all 12 countries and international organizations were not immediately announced. One country was cited in the State Department statement — Japan, which is providing two high-speed skimmers and fire containment boom.

More than 30 countries and international organizations have offered to help with the spill. The State Department hasn’t indicated why some offers have been accepted and others have not.

This should have happened 65 days ago, when the oil spill was still localized and much more manageable than it is today. Here are the latest pictures from NASA showing the extent of the oil’s travels in those 71 wasted days. The first picture is from June 7th and shows how far the oil had dispersed by that date, now three weeks past (click to enlarge).

The 2nd picture is from June 27th and shows the oil now attacking the barrier islands of Mississippi:

Once the oil dispersed hundreds of miles form the well site and began attacking the coastline the surface area required to address in attacking this beast became mind boggling enormous. Once the oil got into the marshes it was too late to save the life there.

It really never had to be this way. If not for the inaction of President Obama (except all his motion on the golf course) this oil spill should have been dealt with as many others like spills have been dealt with in the past (this example is from 1979!).

The 3rd picture shows how localized the problem was on April 29th, over a week after the spill, when a rapid response could have avoided much of the damage we now face.

NASA also has a film showing the growth of the oil spill while team Obama fiddled in DC.

It is criminal what has happened here. Why the US government did not take charge from BP and call in all available resources from around America and the world is just unconscionable. The imbeciles at EPA dawdled and debated whether burning the oil at the surface, or dispersing chemicals, or sand berms would be more of an ecological disaster than this reeking pool of death. The EPA has been stuck on stupid for months with their obsession over naturally occurring carbon dioxide and is potential for unlimited tax revenues. Too busy counting their gold to be bothered by the real damage of the oil spill.

The entire administration is lost in a liberal fantasy, completely unaware of the real life issues surrounding them.

If stupidity was a high crime and misdemeanor the entire lot of bloviating and pompous fools in DC would be standing in the unemployment line instead of millions of hard working, decent Americans. We now see what happens when the aging JDs (Juvenile Delinquents) of the liberal movement are put in charge of important matters.

Disaster on an epoch scale.

23 responses so far

23 Responses to “President Obama’s “Deer In Headlight” Moment”

  1. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Free To Prosper, AJ Strata. AJ Strata said: new: President Obama's "Deer In Headlight" Moment http://strata-sphere.com/blog/index.php/archives/13672 […]

  2. Neo says:

    The real problem here is that the EPA has it’s head up Obama’s ass so far they can see his tongue.

    It must take a special kind of stupid to work for the EPA.

    Seems that 99.9985% purity is the EPA standard for bilge water (water onboard a ship that may contain water, oil, urine, detergents, solvents, chemicals, pitch, particles, and so forth).

    What this means is in order to use a 99% (in relative terms) efficient skimmer, the water wound have to be 98.998515% pure to start.

    This is the ultimate “Catch 22″ … once you suck up any sea water that contains any pollutant (like say BP crude oil), EPA regulations say you can’t put it back .. because it is “bilge”.

    Any sane person would think that if it is purer than the water pulled from the ocean, it would be safe to go back … but not the EPA. It must be 99.9985% (in absolute terms) pure.

  3. It is truly mind-boggling how this administration appears to keep topping itself (in a negative way) almost weekly. Whenever you think a limit on stupidity (or mendacity) has been reached, you discover that you ain’t seen nothing yet.

    I will refrain from adding yet another self-promoting link to one of my posts (at least until I have a new one 🙂 in fear of lynch mobs if I push my luck.

    Biggest problem with a new post is how to adequately express my feelings without inviting a visit from the FBI explaining what a NO-NO that is. Legally there truly are things that are unspeakable. 🙁

  4. tarpon says:

    Yep, Obowma should have read the EPA oil spill emergency plan — Contain the spill at the well, time is of the utmost urgency. And they further state, ‘at all costs keep the oil off the beaches and out of the estuaries’.

    EPA and NOAA — First line of defense ‘fire booms; which the government was supposed to have on hand for just such an emergency — But had none, zip, zero, nada one fire boom.

    And now the EPA is turning away skimmers that cannot meet the 15 ppm water discharge, as if the pelicans wouldn’t be happy with 99.9% filtration.

    Obowma can read, can’t he?

    The biggest cluster-you-know-what in the history of big government. Massive regulatory failure as well … So tell me why did MMS approve the risky single casing well design in the first place? Campaign contributions? MMS, drop campaign contributions at window A, royalty payments at window B and get your well design and environmental waivers at window C. Thanks for your business.

  5. KauaiBoy says:

    I still don’t understand how we allow corporations, unions, PACs and foreigners contribute anything to political campaigns. Influence in the electoral process should be limited to registered voters—–none of these entities votes but is permitted undue influence under the guise of freedom of speech. The quicker we shut off this spigot, the quicker we can take back our country.

  6. lurker9876 says:

    It depends on the word, “managed”. Every time Obama gets involved, he does the wrong things.

    So I’d rather not have him “manage” it because of his inexperience.

    If Palin was in the WH, she would have done an excellent job “managing” the situation. But not many people like her. It’s too bad.

    Obama’s mis-management of this oil situation is a warning for any future disasters.

    Public virtue has become important that self-regulation is all that’s needed but there’s not much public virture inside the Beltway 8.

  7. dhunter says:

    EPIC DISASTER YES!
    EPIC FAILURE MAYBE?
    Maybe Pinnochio and his merry band of enviro-terrorists would rather punish the USA and southern Republican States for their evil oil usage and production and have this enviro disaster as a tool to organize stupid Americans to demand a stop to drilling and higher taxes on energy through cap and tax.

    Never let a Crisis go to waste even a manufactured one.

    Pinnochio should be brought up on IMPEACHMENT charges and when Sarah becomes the new REFORMER PRESIDENT she should should abolish the EPA the NEA and most of the IRS.

    If the States were given the right to collect Federal Taxes and forward them in mass to the Feds, the States would have the bargaining chip to demand the power reserved to them and to exempt themselves from the Feds Tyrannical Rule!

    If the State legislatures were to appoint their Senators again , as used to be the case, they would have recall rights and could bring the Senate Scum home when they vote for Anti-American State killing mandates…(HealthScare Reform)

  8. AJ,

    The tipoff that Pres. Obama was an empty suit was his failure to waive the Jones Act concerning the BP oil spill.

    That act has shown the entire federal bureaucracy that process is more important than results, and has led directly to the Coast Guard enforcing the letter of the law on life vests on oil spill collection barges, the EPA’s actions with the Dutch oil skiming super tanks and the US Fish & Wildlife Service’s enforcing the letter of the law about dredging of bottom muck to construct protective berms.

    Obama’s Jones act punt has directed every federal bureaucrat to spend all their time enforcing the letter of the law for the duration of this administration, regardless of how silly that makes them look.

    They know they must have a perfect record on paper to avoid discipline..

    I criticized the “command climate” Obama’s predecessor — Bush43 — created through his inactions. His inaction on punishing the National Security bureaucracies on Iran’s nuclear program and refusing to publically defend the Iraq War and to publically defed his Administration for actions during Hurricane Katrina showed the American public he was someone to ignore.

    What happened after Katrina what is happening in the Gulf now is exactly what happens when the country’s Chief Executive lacks energy (in terms of the comment by either Hamilton or Madison that what the country most needs in a President is “energy in the Executive”).

    IMO Obama will make Bush43 look like Teddy Roosevelt in that respect.

  9. jwb says:

    The slight excuse of calling Comrade Zero, our drive-by President, young and inexperienced can no longer be used–he’s been in office long enough to have received some OJT. He has transformed the office from POTUS to (IM)POTUS%copy. Either that, or his (in)actions have been done on purpose.

    The entire biosphere would live very happily without EPA purity dictates.

  10. jwb says:

    The slight excuse of calling Comrade Zero, our drive-by President, young and inexperienced can no longer be used–he’s been in office long enough to have received some OJT. He has transformed the office from POTUS to (IM)POTUS&copy. Either that, or his (in)actions have been done on purpose.

    The entire biosphere would live very happily without EPA purity dictates.

  11. jwb says:

    The slight excuse of calling Comrade Zero, our drive-by President, young and inexperienced can no longer be used–he’s been in office long enough to have received some OJT. He has transformed the office from POTUS to (IM)POTUS. Either that, or his (in)actions have been done on purpose.

    The entire biosphere would live very happily without EPA purity dictates.

  12. penguin2 says:

    AJ, if we say that what has happened in the oil spill is “criminal” or at the very worse gross negligence on the part of the part of the government, meaning the Obama administration; when and where does the protection of the people comes in. Are there legal charges to be brought? And I am not referencing BP in this question. When and how is the government accountable, the administration?

  13. MerlinOS2 says:

    At some point when you connect all the dots on this administration you almost have to conclude that this is not just a result of a new kid OJT in office.

    It really becomes hard to discredit the notion that their is intent and malice in play to botch the whole mess for a number of reasons to achieve a political endgame goal set.

    In other words a feature and not a bug.

  14. BarbaraS says:

    AJ You give this guy way too much credit for incompetence and/or stupidity. He is far from stupid and he has an agenda. He is using Chicago thug tactics to get his bills passed. Just look at the way he strong armed the reluctant dims to vote for that healthcare disaster. Bribery and corruption was the least of it. Threats were also used. He has the power of the government and the dim party behind him and threats from him are not to be ignored. Also, look at the lies he told to get that stimulus passed. We now know that bill was just a money tree for his cronies and supporters and was never intended to create jobs. Joe the blowhard said so and so have other dim members of congress. Have we ever seen a president so involved with bills coming from congress? He denies he is behind them but that is also a lie. He is the driving force behind them.

    Obama is evil and will lie and cheat to get his his way. He has said he will not do anything about the gulf until his crap and tax is passed. What is that but blackmail? He has said he will not enforce the border laws until his immigration and amnesty bill is passed. What else is that but blackmail? I can just see his administration sitting around a table trying to come up with roadblocks to stop the locals from averting both these disasters that the Obama administration want to happen and they came up with some pretty lame ones that didn’t pass the smell test. With one stroke of the pen he could have told the EPA and the Coast Guard to back off. He didn’t because they are following his orders. He could have suspended the Jones act. He didn’t because his union buddies objected. Obama doesn’t care if the gulf is destroyed. He doesn’t care if the illegals kill and rape our citizens and bring in drugs. He is keeping his eye on his end game and doesn’t care how he achieves it. That end game is to change the US into a communist state. Socialism is passe’ now and not nearly strong enough for him. His family beliefs were not for socialism, they were for communism and the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree.

  15. lurker9876 says:

    The people and state governments of LA, ALA, MISS, and Florida should sue Obama Adm, EPA, et al, for failing to perform their duties according to the law.

  16. chemman says:

    “The perfect is the enemy of the good”

    While they are bringing in skimmers from other countries to work, they are still not allowing them inside the 3 mile limit covered by the Jones Act. But it is inside that limit where the damage to beaches and sensitive ecological areas is taking place.

    At this point we should accept the 99% purity that present technology can provide (the good) rather than insist upon the EPA mandated 99.9985% (the perfect). In my opinion these “leaders” are lower than slime molds.

  17. mojo says:

    The EPA requirement, as applied, is simply moronic. Probably decided on the basis of what can be put into the gulf as outflow, not intended to apply in circumstances like these. But a bureaucracy has no brain, just nervous responses.

  18. owl says:

    He is running out the clock.

    He intends to do permanent damage to big oil and be able to use this as the example forever after.

    He gets to punish those who did not vote for him. Kill that ugly South and all their jobs.

    The ThinSkin found BP (couldn’t really use Bush) to blame. He worried about criminal charges instead of stopping the spread of oil.

    I heard someone sum up Katrina as being ‘insensitive’ by Bush and this as ‘incompetent’ for Obama.

    The media has covered his azz by their big gun, The Silence. This belonged to Obama immediately, not BP. It is criminal.

    Where oh where are our screaming Congressmen????? Their side called Bush a criminal but none of these spineless things EVER return the favor. Just sit and let him KILL the South.

  19. ivehadit says:

    AJ, did you see the post over at Gateway Pundit about the worker who quit the clean-up in disgust because she said they were not cleaning the oil that washed up during the night…she dug down up to 12 inches to show where the oil layers are…

    THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THIS. None.

    Barbara, you are so right.

    And if this group of thugs in the WH thinks they are going to take the South down, they are SORELY WRONG. Don’t forget, we are Scots Irish!

    One silver lining: the entire world is getting to see in real time: GOVERNMENT DOES NOT WORK. It is bloated and full of stupid PC regulations…just look at the Gulf clean-up and the economy and the healthcare legislation and obama’s policy of turning the military into a Peace Corp with guns…

  20. ivehadit says:

    I forgot to mention the government’s handling of the border and energy independence. 🙁