The three big O's on today’s mind.
The oil spill first off, is not only ridiculous it’s shameful -- not that it happened, but that it’s taken THIS long to not even just be resolved but to have ANY progress on. I think I would even have more respect if they had made several failed attempts. But they – (“they”) sit in meetings all day long trying to figure out what would be the best idea, then they sit on the ideas overnight, a couple days and then they have more meetings and its really despicable the way they acting with no urgency. I can understand their position in not wanting to make a wrong move but honestly – could it get that much worse? (Although in saying that, I know it could, but in this sense of urgency wouldn’t you want to try something?)
But the reason I am writing this is because of all this blame on Obama. Now it’s no secret I’m not only a fan of Obama, I am a follower and – whatever I am in response to him being my hero and idol – that’s what I am. I follow his political career and although I’m sure I have a biased eye – I know when he has done something wrong, I don’t deny his mistakes but I keep my faith in him.
In this case, I would like to unbiased-ly say that I don’t think Obama has done anything wrong. Granted he hasn’t necessarily done anything “right” but that doesn’t make him wrong. What I have to look at is the alternatives. If you are someone who is unhappy with Obama during this oil spill situation – what exactly did you want him to do? Money is not the issue here. Legislation and politics really plays no part at all - it is solely ideas and maybe resources. Do you expect Obama to know more about science and oil drilling than the professionals he and we have employed to know all about? Do you expect Obama to go down to Louisiana and swim down and plug up the leak on his own? He has done all that he can, as a president, can do. Regardless of what kind of president he is. A democratic president, a republican president, a horrible president, a good president. He is a politician, he is a leader, and I’m making this point not to make him sound inferior or “that’s all he is” I want to point it out because I know there are people out there who are thinking that he should have this higher intelligence and he should know exactly how to solve this problem. And the truth is – he shouldn’t.
He has halted the progress of all the other off-shore drilling we had planned for our future and I would like to predict that they probably won’t happen at all – not anytime soon and if they do happen it will be when we know exactly how to solve big crisis’ and it will be with big changes in regulations for these drills. He has pushed and leaned on BP as far as he can – what do you want him to do – hold a gun to their head?
A lot of people have been saying “Obama this is your Katrina” well if it is, I think he’s done his job. Don’t forget when Bush was in the white house and Katrina happened – calls were not made, decisions were not made, Bush himself didn’t even get to Louisiana for three days after it happened. These are two completely different situations if you’re looking at whether or not the president did his job.
Because again, I ask you, what was Obama supposed to do, that he didn’t do?
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I've been biting my tongue and trying to avoid this since you posted it, because I know that anything I have to say will fall on deaf ears anyway. But you asked, and I can restrain myself no longer.
ReplyDeleteObama is a very effective campaigner - perhaps one of the greatest in my lifetime. I can see how you would be attracted to and impressed by that, being as involved in his campaign as you and jo were.
But once elected, it is time to stop campaigning and start actually leading. It's been a year and a half, and he still hasn't figured that part out.
This is a national disaster -- and it's scope should have been obvious long before the first photo of an oil drenched bird hit the news.
The oil shouldn't have ever gotten that far. Cleaning up beaches is nothing compared to what has happened to the Louisiana wetlands. Those marshes are already damaged beyond any hope of recovery. There should have been a larger, coordinated effort toward containment at the site. While BP was addressing the blowout, more could have been done to corral that slick.
I don't see real evidence that he cares. Talking to people in a coffee shop just isn't enough. Saying that he'd fire the CEO of BP is meaningless.
This nation has the resources - both intellectual and physical -- to have at least contained the spill far better. Long before now.
The president has both the access and the power to mobilize those resources. I don't see a whole lot of evidence of that being done.
Obama's just left it to BP, then criticizes BP for not being effective.
This president is far more interested in casting blame than finding solutions.
His comment to Matt Lauer today about "...looking for some ass to kick..." summed that up pretty plainly.
His actions so far have been largely self-serving: the scolding commentary and the walks on the oil-soaked beaches, sleeves rolled up and looking ever so pensive. Such photo ops are for campaigners, not leaders.
You mentioned that it took Bush 3 days to personally travel to view the Katrina damage...do you remember the state of the coast immediately following the storm?
It requires a tremendous amount of ground support and security for any presidential visit (I have personal experience with that), and he was appropriately reluctant, in the post-Katrina upheaval, to draw those resources away from where they were most desperately needed: aiding the victims. I personally thought that he went in way too soon, for that reason.
And for the record, it was about two weeks between the platform explosion on April 20 and Obama's first trip to the coast on May 2. But I don't think that really matters. His being there just consumes resources that would be better used in other ways.
He's getting ready to make his fourth trip down there...to do what? He doesn't need another onsite briefing. That's what video-conferencing is for.
The man just can't seem to handle staying in Washington and simply doing the job that he wanted so much.
you have the same comments that i hear from everyone and they aren't totally inapprorpriate or out of place BUT my point is
ReplyDeletewhat do you want Obama to do? what do you want him to do that he's not doing?
the nation does have the resources and i agree they arent being put to use and its a shame. but i dont think the president has ANYTHING to do with that.
i think its horrible to say that he doesnt care, i think thats unfair. but i agree i think the coffee shop chats and the shots of him on the ruined beaches and that he'd fire the CEO is a little bland in this situation, but i'd much rather at least have that, than have nothing.
i totally disagree with video conferencing with these matters. i think, and i would personally, want to be there to see it specifically in my face
and what resources are being used that could be "used in better ways" to get the president down to Louisiana? certainly not resources that help solve this problem -- i think its entirely important for the president to be there, up in person, and not in the white house being video conferenced. that is actually what video conferencing is NOT for.
i'm also sick of people saying that he has done nothing while in the white house because thats completely untrue, unfair and i think biased. and of course i am biased as well but he is a leader, he has been leading and i think everyone is being far too overly critical of him ESPECIALLY in comparison to the bullshit that previous presidents have or havent done. its like the crtics getting on Obama for wearing "Fancy pants" while on the oiled shored - its ridiculous.
but pearl i have to say, i love arguing and debating with you and i hear everything you say, i may not agree with it (which is pretty common, were pretty opposite) but i have to say the one thing that drives me crazy is when you say things like "i know that anything i have to say will fall on deaf ears" i may not take what you say and totally agree with it and change my mind but its not on deaf ears, you gotta stop saying things like that, you do it fairly often :)
If you are hearing the same comments from "everyone" MH -- how many more of us have to echo those same comments before you accept that there is truth in them? That's what I mean by deaf ears. I say it a lot because no matter what happens, your perception remains unmoved. After a while, I'll just stop trying.
ReplyDeleteWhat resources is he straining with these press junkets? Well, when the POTUS comes to town he becomes the focus of the attention of many local officials, police and emergency staffers that have to be on active or standby duty just looking after him. It's not just his secret service guys. And in the current situation, those very same people have much more important things to do than chaperone a presidential photo op.
As for what he should be doing, MH: he is the Commander in Chief. That's not just a cool title. That's his job. It's a mighty big one. Command. Lead. And he is not doing his job.
This could have been his 9-11 moment -- to show his mettle as a true leader -- but it is turning into his Katrina and there is no turning back.
well actually I only heard it from one person, i overexzaggerated lol
ReplyDeletei do hear, i just dont agree. not on all matters.
well i understand the resources of safety when the president comes to town. but how are those resources ever even being used to help solve this crisis? it's not. yes, they are using resources but its not like we are taking away scientists from solving this problem. i see your point though
yes yes I know hes the commander in chief. and this isnt a question just to you and i know were not politicans and were not the president so maybe we shouldnt know the answer but i dont like the whole idea of "hes not doing his job" "what should he be doing" "well i dont know exactly..." if none of us know even an idea of the next step - why should he? hes not a scientist, hes not a superhero. when ideas come to the table he will decide which deas to go with. i dont think any president or any politican would be doing a different job. thats my main point.
You want tactical details?
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone expects him to don a wetsuit and personally cap the well. In spite of his PR, he's not Superman. That kind of stuff only happens in the movies.
But I've told you several times what he could be doing -- leading. Pulling together the best minds of the people that DO know and tasking them with finding a way out of this. But he should have done that at the outset...
The other thing that has to happen is that someone has to recognize that this marks a significant crossroads for this country and our way of life: we have to be willing to change and adapt to a life with less oil, or we have to accept that having the oil we depend on means abandoning deep ocean well drilling and drilling on land where the oil is.
Had a blowout like this one happened in a land well in ANWR, it could have been capped and contained with an almost imperceptible environmental footprint. It wouldn't have even made the news.
But no. That's not possible. HE could change that...and with significant bi-partisan support. But he won't.
You say that it has nothing to do with legislation and politics. The fact is that politics has everything to do with it. It's an ugly fact of life.
Look, he's your idol. You adore him and will not accept that he is capable of anything less than true greatness.
Nothing is going to change that. It's very difficult to counter passion with logic.
Hang in there Kylee. You make me proud.
ReplyDeletepearl. i have been biting my tongue too. Why do you do this? Why just let us have our own opinions on our blogs without always having to answer to you. I am getting real tired of how you do this i have to say.
ReplyDeleteQuit putting us up to the wall because we have more liberal opinions than you do. It's getting very tiring.
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ReplyDeleteYou don't have to worry.
ReplyDeleteI give up.
I'll have an opinion somewhere else.
Ok then. Let's talk about what that means, shall we? Do you mean you give up on trying to make us see things your way? Because quite frankly that is how this comes across and that is insulting.
ReplyDeleteMy issue with you right now is because i feel like you think you need to talk some sense into us. But we own our beliefs. You can't take them away as hard as your try. No more than i can try and take your faith away.
See, I don't share your faith in religion, but do you EVER see me anywhere ever trying to take your issue with your beliefs in God or Christianity?
Why is it that you cannot possibly see how you come across to those of us who don't share your opinions about liberal politics or Obama or sometimes anything that we like? It’s like you set yourself out to be contrarian.
I would never take you to task about your religion though at times i would like to. I wouldn't because i know that your faith is too important to you. And to do so would be demeaning and disrespectful and we shouldn't do that to people who are our friends.
You already know that Kylee and I have been invested in this campaign and presidency and health care reform etc. But you have been relentless about talking us down as if you have the facts that we need to hear because we are blinded. And I am asking you to stop doing that.
But don't stop because you give up trying to make us see things your way. Stop because you know our opinions matter too even if they are different than yours. And respectfully allow us those opinions without admonishment.
We have different political views. We get that you don't like Obama. I never expected you would. I AM surprised that in all your efforts to try to not be labeled that you still continue to take on Obama more than you ever did Bush. That's hard to take for someone like me. And I have often wanted to take you on more about that but I refrain.
so just please try and see why you come across in a way that makes people like me and Kylee agitated. We don't want to constantly explain why we like Obama anymore than you want to explain why you believe in Jesus and Christianity in the way that you do. (and don’t anyone even go there with trying to make it sound like I am comparing Obama to Jesus, I think we all know what I am trying to say here.)
I can go so far and then i hit a wall I started hitting it with the the health care reform blogging that day and I tried to bring say that in a way. But I have finally hit it.
Pearl, you already know that you are taking on my second favorite person in the world. And you are doing it in a way that makes me uncomfortable if I don’t speak up and have her back on this. EVEN as i know she can hold her own.
And she's just 20 years old compared to all the worldy wisdom that you have. So give her a break ok?
I already said that I'm done with this, jo.
ReplyDeleteWhy bait me? I just came back to this thread to reread and see if MH thought that I had insulted her in some way.
I have been very respectful in my responses to MH. I have been tactful and careful in my selection of words.
MH, in the original post, asked the question "Because again, I ask you, what was Obama supposed to do, that he didn’t do?"
I just made the mistake of assuming that she actually wanted an answer.
With all my "wisdom" you'd think I'd recognize a rhetorical question when I see one.
If I kept making blog posts extolling Christianity, and asking how anyone could possibly believe anything different, I'd expect to be challenged. I'd deserve it. But I don't do that.
Now if you want to debate religion, I'm up to the challenge. My atheist SIL and I have wonderful, lively -- and respectful -- discussions. Dispassionate, logical ones. And somehow manage to love each other in the end. And he's still an atheist, and I'm still a Christian.
And I really DO find it interesting that you came up with the comparison of me taking on Obama with you two, to you taking on Jesus with me.
If you really want to pursue this further, I'd appreciate it if you would show MH the respect of taking it up somewhere other than her blog. Email would be more appropriate.
i'm done. There is no talking to you about how yo push buttons.
ReplyDelete