**** Heads Up: POTUS Speaks to the Press About the Oil Spill, 12:45pm EDT ****

[Clio the Leo]

(notice this is being billed as "the President Speaks to the Press" not "Presidential Press Conference" by the WH, I have a feeling that what he actually says will be drowned out by the screams of, "he didn't do a real press briefing! He only took three questions! Wahhhh!)

White House
http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/president-obama-speaks-press-1

CSPAN
http://cspan.org/Watch/C-SPAN.aspx

MSNBC
http://wwitv.com/portal.htm?http://wwitv.com/tv_channels/b2714.htm

CNN
http://www.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=stream1

[Cha]

1. Thanks..it should

be riveting.

[Clio the Leo]

2. Tweety got a hair cut just for the occasion. NT

[Cha]

4. Dandy.. I was just going to go out

and run so I better wait until a little later. I can't miss this.

[Clio the Leo]

8. I made sure and ate lunch half an hour ago...

.... as he usually does these things right when I'm trying to eat.

lol, you're always about to go run and I'm always about to eat.

[Cha]

9. That's

right!

[DevonRex]

3. Thanks for the info! nt

[BeyondGeography]

5. CNN/Wolfie raising the stakes ridiculously high

Breathless, end-of-Obama's-world stuff.

Big steaming pile, per usual.

[Clio the Leo]

7. Well, I'm glad I was hear to share this moment with all of you, lol

We were here on election night, it's only fitting that we're here together on the LAST day of the President's time in office. :)

[Clio the Leo]

6. If I were the President, I'd come out covered in motor oil...

... since apparently folks are moved by meaningless public displays.

[Phx_Dem]

10. Lol. Or wearing a wet suit and holding a snorkel.

[jenmito]

11. I can't watch MSNBC with Monotone Mitchell and Crazy Chris anymore. I had to turn

to CNN which isn't really better with their commentators, but I can't take the others.

[Clio the Leo]

12. It's important to note this is a "formal" press conference....

... and we KNOW it's a "formal" one because he's doing it a room with lots of giant chandeliers. You know.... like Uncle Ronnie used to do. These are the ONLY ones that count.

That one last week in the Rose Garden did NOT count. (heh)

[Clio the Leo]

13. "BP is operating at OUR direction...."

"Everything they do must get our approval in advance. Thad Allen must approve..."

[jenmito]

16. Thanks for quoting that line. I hope it clears things up! n/t

[Clio the Leo]

14. "Feds directing the effort to contain and clean the spill." NT

[Clio the Leo]

15. You can tell he's not overly pleased with the media message of the last few days. NT

[Kdillard]

30. The media has been ridiculous.

[Clio the Leo]

17. "Moving forward with a section of Gov Jindal's barrier island proposal." NT

[Clio the Leo]

18. "Helping those who's lives have been affected..."

(I'll post a transcript of this later ... he's going faster than I can type and I'm missing a bunch.)

[Clio the Leo]

19. "Taking steps to insure this won't happen again..."

"all drilling MUST be safe..."

[Clio the Leo]

20. "the oil industries cozy relation with the gvmnt often meant no regulation at all."

[Clio the Leo]

21. "more reforms are needed"

Mentions dividing the agency as was done last week.

[Clio the Leo]

22. Announcing the suspension and moratoriums as already posted here.

Again, sorry he's speaking faster than usual. Cant keep up.

[Clio the Leo]

23. Talks about the purpose of the special commission. NT

[Clio the Leo]

24. "This tragedy underscores the need for clean, renewable energy." NT

[Clio the Leo]

25. "This should serve as a wake up that it's time to move forward on this legislation." NT

[Clio the Leo]

26. "This leak is a mile under the surface where no human being can go..."

"we have relied on every bit of technology ... we will take ideas from anywhere ... but we are going to stop it."

[Clio the Leo]

27. "I dont care about politics, I care about the lives of our residents on the Gulf Coast." NT

[Kdillard]

28. EXACTLY.

[Clio the Leo]

29. Jennifer Love: How do you explain that BP isn't always doing what you're asking?

and what do you say as to whether your PERSONAL engagement is what it should be?

POTUS: The day the rig collapsed, my team was in the OVal that first day. Those who think that we were either slow or lacked urgency, dont know the facts. This has been our highest priority since this crisis occured. I am briefed every day .... we understood from day 1 the enormity of this crisis and acted accordingly. .... this entire WH and Fed gvmnt has been singularly focused on stopping the leak and mitigating the damage. We have not seen a leak like this before ... people are going to be frustrated, I understand that ... if you are living on the coast ... you are going to be upset and the response will be inadequate until it stops. That's appropriate. (Everyone) understands this is the most important thing we have to get right.

The United States gvmnt has always been in charge of making sure the response has been appropriate. The 1990 Act considers BP the responsible party. They do so under our supervision. Any decision they make has to be approved by Allen. This notion that the gvmnt is sitting on the side lines ... is not true. What is true is when it comes to stopping the leak, the gvmnt does NOT possess superior technology to BP. ... One of the questions that needs to be asked is SHOULD we? That's what the commission will be determining. ... For now BP has the best technology ... When it comes to the surface, we've been much more involved. Those have been happening under our direction and we are comfortable with the direction that's going.

[Clio the Leo]

31. zzzzzzzzzz........

.... who's idea was it to elect the talky-brainy man?

(kidding)

[ShortnFiery]

32. Why hasn't this brainy man used any of the assistance of 13 countries that volunteered to

help the Gulf Coast to SOP up this oil mess?!?

[ShortnFiery]

34. Sorry President Obama, time was of the essence. Once those marshlands are effected ...

it's too late. We should have let many oil tankers move in and soak up the oil BEFORE it reached the wildlife refuges and marshlands. :(

[pnwmom]

63. How do you know he isn't? We are getting help from all over the world. n/t

[Clio the Leo]

91. It's 17 countries ma'love and he gave you an answer...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=316191&mesg_id=316308

[Clio the Leo]

33. Tapper: Some say NOT everything is being done...

... cites Jindal, fisherman, industry expects other critics. 17 countries have offered to help. How can you say that everything is being done?

POTUS: Are doing everything PERFECTLY? No, we can always do better. Are we evaluating each idea, is this the best option, yes .... Jindal's barrier islands ... I told him our team would review this idea immediately, if they think this is the best approach (corps of engineers) then we will move to execute ... if they disagree, we'll meet with you to figure this out. And that's what happened. In some ways it will be counterproductive.

On each of these points the job of our team is to evaluate the offer, will it be redunant or add to the effort? In some cases, more might not be better. Those offers might be more effective in the near future.

[Cha]

35. Thanks! my feed on cnn went out.

[ShortnFiery]

36. Not even close. Jindal is right on many points and he does know what's going on along the LA

shoreline. I loathe "Jimmy the Page's" idelology, but on this clean up, he's correct and wired in.

[Doctor_J]

37. Tapper and Todd like having a Dem in the WH

they can ask any question they want to, unlike when Stupid had to have questions and answers beforehand.

[Clio the Leo]

38. Chuckles: Why not ask BP to step aside on the on shore stuff?

.... can you respond to the Katrina comparisons.

POTUS: I'll leave it to you guys to make those comparisons to Katrina ... I'm spending my time trying to solve the problem ... people can make historical judgements in the future ... I'm confident history will say that we were on top of the crisis.

BP has contracts with people on file in the event that there's an oil spill. It is their duty to call those in if there is an emergency. The Coast Guard's job is to approve what BP is doing. If the contractors are not moving as effectively as they need to be, the gvmnt has the power to redirect those resources. We are in charge as long as we have good information. If there are mistakes, WE can make those changes (without reconfiguring everything.)

Part of the purpose of this briefing is to explain to the people of the Gulf, ultimately we're responsible. If they're not happy, they need to let us know. Skimmers can be moved. Understandably people are frustrated, even with a perfect structure, spots will be missed.

I dont think the problem is that no one is minding the store, in something this big, there will be places that fall short. our teams to authorize to direct BP in the same way if they were being paid by the Feds.

[Cha]

40. PERFECT!!

"POTUS: I'll leave it to you guys to make those comparisons to Katrina ... I'm spending my time trying to solve the problem ... people can make historical judgements in the future ... I'm confident history will say that we were on top of the crisis."

I miss not hearing what he has to say..none of the feeds are working now so I'll have to catch it on youtube..and I thank you for filling us in.

[Clio the Leo]

39. Steve Tung: Why is it taking so long? Did you REALLY act from day 1...

... for a worst case scenario?

POTUS: Yes .... pre-deploying boom would have been the right thing to do. Unfortunately, that wasn't always the case. SINCE the response, I am very confident that the gvmnt has acted consistantly with a since of urgency. Prior to this accident happening, there was a lack of anticipating what the problems could be .... that was part of the problem with MMS. More needs to be done (which is why the agency has been divided.)

On a whole bunch of fronts, there was complacency for what would happen in the worst case scenario. Example: How is that oil cos got wavers ... (explains all the red tape it went through) .... Congress mandated that only 30 days were allocated before ... the waver could be denied. Wavers were being granted because a proper study couldn't be done.

Again states solving THAT problem is something the commission is going to work on.

[kirby]

43. Obama missed an important point...

The first several days were spent fighting fires and trying search/rescue. The leaking oil gusher was not discovered until four days later.

[Cha]

44. "Why is it taking so long?" seems to be the

question of those who don't realize what exactly is involved in this catastrophic tragedy.

[tilsammans]

41. Thank you, Clio!

:yourock:


Watching the POTUS now on ABC.

[Clio the Leo]

42. Chip Reid: Was Burnbaum fired? Why? Should other heads roll?....

.... Sec. Salazar blamed Bush ... you seemed to suggest that too .... cozy relation between MMS and Big Oil. But you continued to give permits. Is that fair to Bush?

POTUS: Salazar cleaned house, but the culture had changed and I absolutely take responsablity for that. No evidence that some of the corrupt behavior took place under our watch.

With respect to Burnbaum ... I found out about her resignation today ... I dont know about the circumstances ... we have to make sure, if we are going forward with domestic oil producton that we are operating at the highest level and aren't making excuses. I have confidence in Salazar.

[Cha]

46. "FAIR TO BUSH"? chip is trying to protect bush..that's

so swarmingly sweet.

[butterfly77]

104. chip Reid hates Obama..

he has been trying to get him since day one..

[Clio the Leo]

45. Julianna Smoot: To what extent can BP be trusted?

POTUS: BP wants to get this oil capped. It's bad for their bottom line and we will be staying on them about that. They want this capped as badly as anyone and they want to minimize the damage as much as anyone can.

It's legit to ask if BP has been fully forthcoming .... of if doing so is in their best interest. We have to verify whatever they say about the damage ... this is an area where we fell short ... people were working as best as they could, but when the first estimates came of 5K barrels, that was based on sattelite date that would give a rough calculation. BP already had a camera there at that point but wasn't forthcoming. The admin pushed them to release the video, but should have released them soon. It took too long to set up our flow tracking group. Keep in mind that didn't change our response. We were hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. All the steps we took would have been the same if we'd know how fast the oil was coming out.

[Cha]

50. Can you imagine bush trying to answer these questions?

Course the "media" wouldn't be askng them of bush.

I'm glad Pres Obama is out there answering them and in charge.

[ShortnFiery]

47. Shit! Obama's version of 9-11 BE AFRAID.

Hey President Obama, Al Qaeda is no longer in Afghanistan.

Mission Creep is VILE and inaccurate.

The TALIBAN did NOT attack us on 9-11! :grr:

[Phx_Dem]

71. The Taliban was complicit in the 9/11 attacks.

They protected, hid, and housed al quaeda in Afganistan. Who the fuck doesn't know that after 9 years?!

Not to mention the Taliban is a threat to the security of both Afganistan and nuclear-armed Pakistan, which makes them a threat to all nations in the region and to the U.S.

[ShortnFiery]

87. NO! As former CIA Operations Officer, Robert Baer, once stated it's akin to ...

punishing the hotel owner for allowing a guest who killed someone - somewhere else to stay overnight.

Yes, let's ARREST and prosecute all HOTEL owners as well as murderers if they ever stayed at their Holiday Inn Express? :crazy:

THE RATIONALE, on it's very surface is unsound.

Baer's statement is in this video:

http://rethinkafghanistan.com/blog/2009/08/how-much-security-did-1-trillion-buy/

[Phx_Dem]

98. No, it's akin to harboring a fugitive. Or being aware that a murder has been

committed because you are are proving shelter and support to the killer. And that is a crime.

The difference is, 9/11 was bigger than "a murder."

[ShortnFiery]

101. Absolutely NOT! They stayed there. So now are we going ...

to BOMB a detroit neighborhood and kill all the people in the house and area IF some killer seeks refuge in his sister's house while she staying at the neighbors?

Did you even bother to watch this video documentary segment interviewing THREE former Intelligence Officers?

http://rethinkafghanistan.com/blog/2009/08/how-much-security-did-1-trillion-buy/

[Phx_Dem]

110. Nice try. You're using analogies that are not the same at all.

If a killer was hiding a Detroit neighborhood, we would send in the SWAT team to get him out, we won't drop bombs. The Taliban is not "a killer," they are a terrorist group that is quite large and spread out.

9/11 and Afganistan, as a country, is a little bigger than a murder or the city of Detroit. And we aren't randomly bombing everything in site. Do we accidently kill innocents, yes. Unfortunately and tragically, yes. That doesn't mean we don't send in the police or the SWAT team to get the killer out of the Detroit neighborhood. We don't just ignore the situation because someone may get hurt. And war is slighly more dangerous than a SWAT takedown.

[ShortnFiery]

114. That's the whole damn point, there's only 125 al Qaeda AT MOST in Afghanistan.

Count um! 125 AT MOST. We have NO VALID reason to remain in Afghanistan other than to provide a Battlefield Playground for the MIC.

We are IMMORAL to remain there and that's why the rest of the world, in their quiet moments of honesty, either fear or loathe us.

If that's peachy keen with you, great. I'm ashamed of my country KILLING localized third world peoples when al Qaeda is all but gone from those areas.

Our occupation of both countries is NOT making Americans safer. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Every innocent we kill and insensitively quip as "collateral damage" has at least a half dozen relatives who HATE OUR GUTS.

We learned nothing from Vietnam. These occupations are fomenting hatred of the USA throughout the World.

Mission Accomplish MIC! If we kill enough innocent people, we're sure to sooner rather than later, find our nation embroiled in endless war. :nuke:

p.s. You didn't bother watching the documentary video cited above, did you?

[leftynyc]

112. They were asked to turn Osama over

and refused. They had the chance to prove they weren't beholden to terrorists and made their choice. Fuck them. Your analogy to a hotel is moronic.

[ShortnFiery]

115. Some reports were that they were willing to turn bin Laden over.

Still, since there's only, at most, only 125 Al Qaeda left, why are we still occupying that nation and KILLING almost as many innocents as Taliban. Taliban who did NOT attack us on 9-11. It's downright VILE. We are wrong to do this immoral act. :(

[leftynyc]

121. That's a different argument

I was responding to our going after the taliban (who made women's lives miserable and deserve whatever shit they get). My only problem with leaving is that we once again leave the women of Afghanistan in the clutches of those who would make slaves out of them.

[Clio the Leo]

93. Yep, that's the equivalent of saying the Republicans didn't have anything to do ...

.... with Bush's Army invading Iraq.

[Clio the Leo]

48. Ms Helen: When are you going to get out of Afghanistan

.... and dont give us the Bushism. (of self protection)

POTUS: We went to Afghanistan because the Taliban was harboring AQ ... AQ escaped capture and set up headquarters in the border region. (and repeats what he's said over and over and over and over)

Helen: Are they a threat to us?

POTUS: I wouldn't be deploying men and women into harms way if they weren't a threat to us. We are going to clear out Taliban strongholds, strengthen the Afghanistan infastructure and gradually pull out (paraphrased).... We will also help Pakistan deal with insurgents within their borders. ... We are making progress.

[ShortnFiery]

51. Tell me Clio: Why are we killing the third world Taliban when they were NOT the ones who

killed Americans on 9-11?

How did we morph the mostly localized TALIBAN into the international groups known as al Qaeda?

I'm very proud of Ms. Helen. :loveya:

[Clio the Leo]

94. Why are you asking questions you already know the answer to? NT

[Cha]

53. Whatever helen.

[Phx_Dem]

49. I know everyone loves Helen Thomas, but she's an ass.

"And don't give us the line about . . . " Fuck you Helen. You ask the questions, he answers them.

[tilsammans]

52. I like Helen, but her question seems out of place here

:shrug:

[Clio the Leo]

95. It's the only question she asks anymore...

.... I'm not kidding. It's literally the only thing she asks at any WH briefing .... something to do with Afghanistan.

[Cha]

54. Exactly.

Edit~ Pres Obama doesn't give bushit so she set herself up as an asshole.

[jenmito]

55. "And don't give us that Bushism that we're fighting them there so they won't come here."

And he DIDN'T. Good for him for answering her question.

[Cha]

57. And, he wouldn't have either without her

barking out orders.

[jenmito]

59. You're right.

But Helen can't seem to help herself with that question.

[Cha]

61. The question is okay..it's the

asshole way she asks it.

[jenmito]

67. True...

she TOLD him what "not to give" him.

[Phx_Dem]

75. Exactly. n/t

[ShortnFiery]

65. I particularly liked that challenge.

Helen Thomas is both a courageous and patriotic American soul. :loveya:

The rest of the presstitutes shake in fear, but not Helen. She challenges all.

[jenmito]

72. As did HE, I'm sure. He's not scared of her. n/t

[ShortnFiery]

82. Of course not, but she had the courage to ask that tough question - and apt comment.

There's absolutely no reason to be killing those third world people who live on those lands. I'm saddened and embarrassed for my Country. But I'm also proud that AT LEAST ONE journalist has the moral courage to call him on his horrific mistake of continuing these VILE occupations.

Helen Thomas :loveya:

[leftynyc]

113. She would have gotten the

same answer without being an asshole about it.

[ShortnFiery]

118. Why? The Taliban did not attack us on 9-11 and are local to the AF-PAC area.

We have no right to be killing them when our true enemy is one each al Qaeda. She also tried to interject that they (Taliban) are not a threat to the USA. They're NOT now but if we continue to kill their women and children (plus a few hundred goats) as collateral damage, some of these Taliban are going to be more than willing to give up their local life and join the INTERNATIONAL al Qaeda.

However, it won't be easy, they'll have to leave AF-PAC because there are only 125 al Qaeda, at most to be found in Afghanistan. You can quote General Petraeus on that fact.

There's no reason to be occupying Afghanistan. None. Nada.

IMO, Helen was correct to be contentious. What you call as "asshole", I call "courageous." :thumbsup:

[leftynyc]

122. Why courageous?

It's not like she's risking her life by asking Pres Obama a question. He has given her no reason to treat him without respect.

The rest of your post I've responded to you elsewhere.

[ShortnFiery]

123. Oh come on? Look at the gutless wonders surrounding her?

They should be ashamed of themselves but all they care about is a damn paycheck. If we had more Americans as brave as Helen, we wouldn't, as the American People, tolerate all this horrible killing and dying IN OUR NAME. President Obama needs to be CHALLENGED because these occupations are immoral and keeping Americans less safe.

You don't get people's attention by being a spring butt ass kisser. Helen knows that she'll be socially disrespected, but she doesn't care. Too damn cool by me.

Not all journalists are corporate whores. God Bless Helen Thomas. :thumbsup:

[leftynyc]

125. Whatever

I maintain she would have gotten the exact same answer if she asked with respect. Now she just looks like an asshole.

[ShortnFiery]

126. That's where we differ. President Obama has NOT been challenged by the people

who should confront him, the leadership of our party. I'm grateful to even a lowly journalist with the moral courage to, just perhaps, get him to think twice about his actions.

Too many people only flatter powerful people. Especially if they are doing something clearly immoral (two military occupations), I have no problem with them being BLUNTLY challenged.

[leftynyc]

128. Yes, we've all seen your MO

He was more polite to her than she deserved.

[Clio the Leo]

96. There's the old line about flies and honey. NT

[ShortnFiery]

106. There's also the old stories about "yes-men" and moral decay.

[Clio the Leo]

109. Here's a pic of your girl...

hopefully you can see it.

http://tweetphoto.com/24195720

[ShortnFiery]

117. She's beautiful to me - both inside and out. Thank-you for the picture. eom

[kjackson227]

77. I also didn't like her tone...

I might be in the minority, but I can't warm up to her. She can be somewhat rude most of the time. jmo.

[ShortnFiery]

107. Well behaved women rarely make history.

Gosh, I adore Helen Thomas. :loveya:

[tishaLA]

56. Predicted Headlines from MediaWhores

Pres Admits He Was "Wrong" About Off-Shore Drilling

Obama Says He's Sorry

Pres "Didn't Know" About MMS

[jenmito]

62. Admitting he's wrong or sorry are refreshing changes from Bush. n/t

[tishaLA]

69. You'll get no quibble from me

I'm just predicting Andrea's post-press conference blather.

[jenmito]

85. I don't think anyone who hears such headlines would blame Obama, either...

just like we wouldn't.

[Clio the Leo]

58. Jackie Cohen: Do you regret your call for expanded drilling?

POTUS: Domestic oil production is an important part of our overall energy mix .... it needs to be a part of our overall plan ..... reminds press how much time he spends talking about alternative energy sources ... but we are several years away from operating on a clean grid, until then we have to use oil .... it makes sense to do that here and not rely soley on imports.

Were I was wrong was in my belief that the companies had their act together when it came to worse case scenarios .... we hadn't seen an accident like this to alert us to the fact that they weren't ... but it just takes one incident ... our assumptions proved to be incorrect. We have to do a complete scrub of our safety procedures and records. We have to be confident that we have the technology and know how to shut this down in two or three days .... I dont have that confidence now.

Follow up: Are you sorry your team hadn't already done the reform .... and how did you know it was a firing?

POTUS: You're assuming it was a firing ... I found out about it this morning and Salazar has been in hearings all morning.

Reforms weren't happening fast enough ... if they were, this might have been caught. Again cites that's part of this commissions job to evaluate and correct.

The fact that oil companies have to work so hard to get oil, tells us the direction of the industry ... that's why I never said, "drill baby drill" ... we cant drill our way out of the problem. ... We have to make some serious determiniations as to what risks we're willing to take. .... We have to start moving on this transition. Again urges Congress to pass the Kerry bill.

[SeattleGirl]

60. Could you imagine Bush using the word "wrong" in connection

with himself?

Yeah, me either.

[Jennicut]

64. Never.

Obama admits that he is wrong sometimes. Rare trait in a politician.

[tishaLA]

66. It really struck me. Remember when Bush was asked about mistakes

and he couldn't come up with one? And here we have a Pres who, without prompting, volunteers that not all his decisions have been perfect.

[SeattleGirl]

73. Bush would have choked on the word "wrong".

Unless he was talking about someone else.

Quite refreshing to hear a politician say he was wrong.

[Cha]

68. Pass Kerry Bill!

[Clio the Leo]

70. Reporter: What is the target of the 1200 troops to the border....

... what is their mission. Do you support the economic boycott of AZ?

POTUS: I dont support the AZ law, I understand the frustration.... As President, I dont address boycots ... wants to avoid a patchwork of immigration laws when that's the job of the Feds. ... We have to have a comprehensive approach to immigration reform ... we need to move now ... I am prepared to work with both parties to get a good bill ... there's no reason we cant solve this problem.


(egads! sorry .... missed the last part .... I didn't have to take potty breaks during pressers when BUSH was in office! lol)

[Jennicut]

74. Bush was not part Vulcan.

[Clio the Leo]

76. Major Garret: Are you comfortable with the "boot on the neck" metaphor?

.... and then asks about Sestak.

POTUS: There will be an official response shortly on the Sestak issue which I hope will answer your question. I can assure the public that nothing improper took place.

With respect to the metaphor ... Salazar has been emotional about this issue ... I'll let Ken answer for himself. We dont need language like that, we need action, and that's what we intend to do. We've been through a difficult year and a half and this is just one more bit of difficult ... for months to come ... the gulf will be affected in a bad way ... my job is to make sure that everyone in the Gulf understands this is what I think about morning, noon and night ... I was shaving this morning and Malia poked her head in and said, "did you plug the hole yet daddy?"

When you see birds flying around with oil all over their feathers and turtles dying ... when I hear folks expressing frustrations ... I think to myself these are folks who grew up fishing in these wetlands and seeing this as who they are and to see that messed up would be infuriating.

The American people need to understand that the Feds are constantly thinking about how to stop this and make sure it doesn't happen again. It forces us to do some soul searching. In case anyone wonders who's responsible ... I take responsabilty .... it's my job to shut this down. That doesn't mean it will be easy ... it doesn't mean we wont make mistakes. But I am fully engaged.

[Clio the Leo]

78. ~ end ~ ... and for clarification....

.... my posts are not always verbatum (the man uses a LOT of extra words lol) ... and sorry for the typos.

[Clio the Leo]

80. Will issues a statement on Sestak shortly...

.... "the AMerican people need to know nothing unethical happened."

[Raine1967]

116. Smooch!

Clio -- you rock for what you do!

When I can't or don;t see the Prez, I read your threads -- and truth be told -- later on - I find that you nailed it.

THANKS!!!

[Clio the Leo]

120. well I missed a bunch today...

.... the combination of how fast he was speaking combined with the technological complexity of the matter at hand made it hard. I STRONGLY encourage everyone to read the official transcript when it comes out.

[jenmito]

79. His last response about how he thinks of the Gulf oil spill every day from the minute he

wakes up, when Malia asks him if they plugged the hole yet, that he grew up in Hawaii, that he understands those who see the animals with the oil, etc., was a VERY good answer. Made him look "human." He also took responsibility.

[Cha]

83. The first part that I did get to see before

the feeds went out showed that he was very empathic with the anger and frustration.

[jenmito]

88. Yes. It was very empathetic. Chuck Todd just said he thought that answer was

probably what James Carville and others were looking for.

[Cha]

92. Oh good...Hope the carvilles are going to be all about

the environment and no offshore drilling when this is over..instead of their history of being the opposite.

[Clio the Leo]

97. Blows MY mind that Carville et al NEEDED to hear him say it...

... in order to understand that's how he felt. Barack Obama is probably the most empathetic President of the modern era .... not for one second did I think he had no sympathy for what others were suffering.

[jenmito]

100. I agree...

but it's still good that that little statement probably WILL placate the likes of (the irrational) James Carville.

[Cha]

103. carvilles are extra special medaiwhores

and need to be pampered just right.

[Jennicut]

86. "I am responsible". An actual adult as President.

[jenmito]

90. Exactly. n/t

[Clio the Leo]

81. "While I was shaving this morning, Malia opened the door and said...."

"have you plugged the hole yet daddy?"

[jenmito]

89. That last response was his BEST response of the press conference. n/t

[flpoljunkie]

99. And, smart, as well. It will be repeated by the media.

[jenmito]

105. I agree. n/t

[Cha]

102. Yeah, daddy...time

to don the Superman suit and dive down.

[Political Tiger]

84. And now the over-paid talking heads start whining. n/t

[flpoljunkie]

108. Ed Schultz, I took it that President Obama did not want to say the head of MMS had been fired--not

that he didn't know she's been fired or that he had ordered Salazar to fire her. I very much doubt she resigned of her own accord.

I disagree with Ed that President Obama was on the defensive. He seemed in control and well apprised of what has happened and is happening in the Gulf.

And, I don't give a rat's ass about Sestak, and I hope it will be put to rest very soon.

[NatBurner]

111. clio-

i really need to slide u some props for transcribing this whole thing (minus the potty breaks lol) for us (read:me)

u didn't have to do it, but u did

natpac cares, if don't nobody else care (10 more pts if u get that one :))

thx

[Clio the Leo]

119. I have fun with it....

... why I haven't figured out a way to get PAID to do this is anyone's guess.

(and you're welcome)

[Cha]

124. You get

paid in absolute gratefulness:loveya:

[Clio the Leo]

127. ... awww shucks. NT