Obama 'furious' at oil spill, but won't vent...

[one_voice]

President Barack Obama insisted Thursday he was "furious" about the US oil disaster but that "yelling" would be pointless, as aides sought to portray the leader as engaged despite his trademark cool demeanor.

Officials also disputed a growing media narrative that political trauma over the worst environmental catastrophe in US history would derail Obama's second term agenda, even as doubts grew over his pending trip to Asia.

But as the White House fired its latest shots in the public relations battle over the spill, new video emerged of helpless sea birds coated in chocolate-colored oil, likely to further sharpen media anguish.

In a new attempt to demonstrate its engagement, the White House said that Obama would make his third trip to the Gulf of Mexico coast on Friday, and he appeared on CNN talk show "Larry King Live" to discuss the catastrophe.

"I would love to just spend a lot of my time venting and yelling at people, but that is not what I was hired to do -- my job is to solve this problem," Obama said, in an excerpt from the show.

"I am furious at this entire situation. This is something where somebody didn't think through the consequences of their actions," he added.

*snip*

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Obama_furious_at_oil_spill_but_won__06032010.html

[Mari333]

1. lets see some action. words are cheap.

[depakid]

2. errr... your job was also to ensure that the federal regulatory agenices had their house in order

and also to sift through the advise you received and do a little homework of your own before ratifying Republican drilling policies.

Had that been begun in earnest on Day one (or even day 50 or 100) this disaster might have been prevented- and you might be looking prescient- rather than seeming to some like the goat.

[TK421]

3. There was NO contingency plan here...by BP...NO contingency plan

and THAT, my friends is what is pissing off the general public and the people living on these shores...

THAT is what is pissing us off....NO contingency plan...top-kill? I'm no engineer, but the first time I ever heard of that method it just screamed failure

You mean to tell me, with all of the so-called technology the United States possesses that someone ( anyone, besides BP's engineers ) can't figure out a way to plug and stop this? AT ALL?!!!!


Are you people fucking kidding me? So a major line bursts..OK...we can deal with that, but ONLY if there is a fucking CONTINGENCY PLAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you know...to fucking DEAL WITH IT!!!

[JuniperLea]

9. Bull... they had six or seven contingency plans!

None have worked so far... so they were lying about the plans.

[TK421]

12. they were LYING about the plans?!! REALLY? those are not contingency plans

not at all...nope..with all their so-called engineers..

you don't see the solution, neither do I..surely you're as frustrated as I am in this

edited to add: contingency plan on dealing with this type of situation would have been an effective, QUICK way to keep the oil from spilling into the Gulf and ruining the lives of hundreds of thousands of people...not to mention their livelihoods...

Capping this oil leak has not been successful, so they go with methods like top kill and junk shot ( fuck, I could have thought of these fucking things )

We're talking about RESPONSIBILITY HERE

[JuniperLea]

20. That's the point...

They "convinced" the last administration (I'm sure that was the wimpiest arm wrestling match ever) that they had it all worked out... had all the safety mechanisms in place, that this was a very safe well... and they got approval to go ahead.

I expect there are hundreds of time bombs just like this waiting to go off. Yes, I'm frustrated as hell. What can any human being do when they create a monster they themselves cannot control? This story is as old as time... but instead of Frankenstein's monster, we have a massive well spewing toxins from deep inside the Earth. It's a monster, and it's out of control. No angry mob of villagers with torches is going to change that.

[FLPanhandle]

4. "This is something where somebody didn't think through the consequences of their actions,"

Wasn't it the governments job to make sure the potential consequences were covered?

The "somebody" might be you Obama.

[Cant trust em]

6. No. it's really BPs fault.

Let's not forget that.

[Raine]

5. Anger can motivate ... show BP that you're mad

just saying it and not putting passion into it is just not enough! :mad: Show some rage ... PLEASE!

[JanMichael]

13. Don't worry. HE has a plan. HE always has a plan that we're too stupid to understand.

It'll all be over before you know it. There's a plan...

[JanMichael]

7. Umm - "my job is to solve this problem" - O-k...

...gotta time-line or concrete plan bubba?

[JuniperLea]

10. Do you? Does anyone?

BP said they had contingency plans for well failures... they lied. What else have they lied about? What do you expect Obama to do, exactly, Bubba?

[JanMichael]

11. Doesn't matter what I think. I didn't convince a trillion people I was a savior.

Then fuck them up the butt. Got that bubba?

[one_voice]

15. Trillion people?

Savior? Who are you talking about?

If you're referring to Obama and those who voted for him..(thinking he's a savior) you're wrong. I voted for Obama, and I fully understand he's a man trying to do a very difficult job. I understand it takes time to change things, it doesn't happen overnight. We didn't get into the messes (yes plural) overnight and they're not going to be fixed overnight, and they're not going to be done by one man alone. He doesn't have that kind of power. He has to work with congress/senate and when you're own party is bucking you on issues..not too mention the other side of the aisle trying to bring you down at every opportunity.

I find it funny that the people that refer to him as a "messiah" or "savior" (in a snarky way) are the very people that expect him to perform miracles.

[JanMichael]

17. "trillion" was just an exaggeration. Please, you're killing me.

I don't expect miracles nor did I have high expectations of the "Hope and Change" ad campaign. I was mocking those who did and still do by being apologists.

What I expect now is action not "all hat and no cattle". There are several threads on DU that explain quite well what could have been done and what still could be done yet none have been done. Here's just one: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/gulf-oil-spill-supertankers-051310

I'm done now though. Good night.

[JuniperLea]

19. Ahhh... see... it doesn't matter what you think...

Well, whew! Thank God! Because that saviour bullshit is bullshit. If you are weak and feeble minded enough to think that any human being is a saviour and capable of fixing everything that has been purposefully broken over the past decade, then your thoughts are worth the bandwidth you are wasting.

[JanMichael]

21. Well that was just nasty. I see you didn't catch my snarkyness all that well.

I have NEVER believed in saviors (any) or the enormous horse-shit mind-fuck that the MONSTER centrist political ad campaign made people salivate over back in '08.

Don't take offense. Just take mommy's little helper and everything will be fine. BO will have your back and song birds will awaken your beautiful mind in the morning. Everything will be just fine, no worries. Vroom vroom. Gas up and pig out - it's party time in the U S of A.

Do widzenia and buenos night.

[JuniperLea]

8. Acting like the adult he is...

That's exactly what we need. Emotional outbursts are childish, counterproductive, and seriously have no place at all with a POTUS.

People need to grow the hell up.

[gateley]

14. You gotta be true to who you are. As Carville said, sometimes the baddest guy

is the one sitting quietly at the end of the bar.

I agree that perception matters, and it's always good to SHOW how you feel, but my brother's the same way. Wouldn't dream of raising hell in public. I'd like to see it, too, but that's not his way.

Edit to add I bet those in the WH have seen another side of him. I've no doubt he feels passionately about this, and that he IS furious.

[branders seine]

16. 'didn't think through the consequences of their actions'

kind of like appointing Wall Street bankers to regulate Wall Street...

[Trillo]

18. If yelling serves no purpose,

why were plebes in HS forced to yell at the top of their lungs to what were called "old men", other students who've been there long enough to no longer be a plebe?

It certainly must serve a purpose, if they teach it to us in High School. I understand they also teach it at the real military academies.

Now that said, I've never once found an employer who appreciated being yelled at, it generally results in a firing. However, I'm sure those schools taught us those yelling lessons for a very good purpose. Not sure what it was, but you know how it is, education is so important and all, we must not forget the very real lessons taught to us at such great personal expense, and we must practice them at any and every opportunity!