Barack Hussein Obama’s Gulf Oil Leak Speech: Reactions

Michelle Malkin:

Here is the Obama Disaster Management Theory: In times of crisis, you can never have enough unelected, unvetted political appointees hanging around. Nearly two months after the BP oil spill, the White House will now name an oil-spill-restoration point person to oversee recovery efforts in the Gulf of Mexico. Too many czars have already spoiled this administration’s credibility. Might as well pile on another.

Larry Kudlow:

Another problem was Obama’s arrogant announcement that he will be informing BP’s chairman “that he is to set aside” some undisclosed asset amount ($20 billion) for the government-run escrow fund to pay for the spill damages. Trouble is, there are no laws to permit our government to force such financial retribution. Not even a new TARP, at least not yet. Did someone say nationalization? But stock-option and credit-default-insurance markets are already pricing in a BP bankruptcy.

Robert Stacy McCain:

Obama’s shortcomings in this crisis should not surprise anyone. As was repeatedly pointed out by Obama’s critics during the 2008 campaign, he had no executive experience. His campaign was about fine-sounding rhetoric, boundless promises and grandiose symbolism. His background was as a liberal activist, an academic and a state legislator.

Most of all, we were told, Obama was qualified to be president because he had such an excellent temperament.

Too bad you can’t plug an oil well with temperament.

Fuzzi:

So he announces the content of his meeting with BP tomorrow, before he meets with the CEO he’s refused to meet with for almost two months. Sound familiar? How many times during the healthcare debacle did he dictate terms to republicans, ignore them for months and then try to say that he was listening and was eager to hear their input?

Barack Obama’s Oil Spill:

I have to hand it to the Thinker in Chief, though … his plan really shows how you’ll tackle your dependence on foreign oil. I mean, with the moratorium on deep water drilling in the Gulf, the Bay of Rigs will suddenly become the Bay of Wind Turbines and Solar Panels and Efficient Cars and Homes. Meanwhile, investing your tax dollars in the development of clean energy technology will make all that oil slaking your coastline disappear before your very eyes!

After all, who needs those deep water oil rigs anyway? They can all move to Brazil, taking with them the 40,000 people who work on them, putting the hundreds of thousands of people back on the mainland who depend on them out of work. That’s a jobs jobs jobs bill right there, if I ever saw one.

To you, last night, BO was saying: “I don’t have all the facts, but I think Oil Spill acted stupidly … so I’m going to take advantage of this crisis to fulfill my destiny” … as America’s worst president ever.

Public Policy Polling:

Our new Louisiana poll has a lot of data points to show how unhappy voters in the state are with Barack Obama’s handling of the oil spill but one perhaps sums it up better than anything else- a majority of voters there think George W. Bush did a better job with Katrina than Obama’s done dealing with the spill.

50% of voters in the state, even including 31% of Democrats, give Bush higher marks on that question compared to 35% who pick Obama.

Overall only 32% of Louisianans approve of how Obama has handled the spill to 62% who disapprove. 34% of those polled say they approved of how Bush dealt with Katrina to 58% who disapproved.

Instapundit, reacting to an Ann Althouse bit:

“This is such embarrassing cliché rhetoric: Some say we can’t do it. I say we can’t not do it.“

I think I used that line with a girlfriend, once.

Translation: Hey Obama, your presidency is officially fucked.