# The Obama BP/Energy Speech - A Failed Opportunity **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 16, 2010, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374 "2010-06-16T00:37:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/61 "2010-06-16T21:16:22Z")
And Obama seems to have succeeded. $20Bn set aside. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/62 "2010-06-16T22:10:03Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Not sure when this became a requirement for every presidential speech, I’ll applaud the first guy that drops it. I guarantee the last line of every speech from the Oval Office is going to be “and may God bless the United States of America”. It’s probably got its own template in Word. Yes, but Obama went way beyond that: > [@](#): > > It’s a faith in the future that sustains us as a people. It is that same faith that sustains our neighbors in the Gulf right now. > > Each year, at the beginning of shrimping season, the region’s fishermen take part in a tradition that was brought to America long ago by fishing immigrants from Europe. It’s called “The Blessing of the Fleet,” and today it’s a celebration where clergy from different religions gather to say a prayer for the safety and success of the men and women who will soon head out to sea -– some for weeks at a time. > The ceremony goes on in good times and in bad. It took place after Katrina, and it took place a few weeks ago –- at the beginning of the most difficult season these fishermen have ever faced. > > And still, they came and they prayed. For as a priest and former fisherman once said of the tradition, “The blessing is not that God has promised to remove all obstacles and dangers. The blessing is that He is with us always,” a blessing that’s granted “even in the midst of the storm.” > > The oil spill is not the last crisis America will face. This nation has known hard times before and we will surely know them again. What sees us through -– what has always seen us through –- is our strength, our resilience, and our unyielding faith that something better awaits us if we summon the courage to reach for it. > > Tonight, we pray for that courage. We pray for the people of the Gulf. And we pray that a hand may guide us through the storm towards a brighter day. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/63 "2010-06-16T22:11:17Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > My apologies, **elucidator**. Your posts really didn’t justify that kind of response. I think psychiatrists call what I just did “transference”. Again, my apologies. It never happened. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/64 "2010-06-17T00:53:06Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > And Obama seems to have succeeded. $20Bn set aside. Big deal $20 billion dollars! GWBush would have given a speech that roused the ire of the nation and threatened those damn foreigners for not being on our side. Then he would have held hands with a Saudi prince. Then Halliburton would get a bail-out paid for by the rest of us. And the Gulf would rot away while BP promised that the check was in the mail. We want a good speech, not actual results. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/65 "2010-06-17T01:51:31Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Scooping tar balls out of sand or washing off animals doesn’t require any skill and is labor intensive. Given the length of shoreline involved there can’t be too many volunteers for these jobs. Not to hijack much, but, tonight I called the Volunteer hotline (1-866-448-5816, btw for all types of effort) to ask about volunteering to help clean oil off of injured wildlife. I have experience with wildlife rehab, specifically with birds, and am considering going down to help if I can swing the time off work. I was informed that you have to be a certified rehabber, and I’m not current, but detailed my experience, and my info was taken, “will get back to”. Since friends have asked, I asked if there were training programs on site for lay volunteers. The answer was no, so, really, right now washing off animals is not open to everyone, they are asking for skilled workers. And I can understand that. And, [Tri-State Bird Rescue](http://tristatebird.org/dwh/help) is in charge of clean-up of wildlife, should you want to support the trained people working hard down there. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/66 "2010-06-17T02:55:59Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Big deal $20 billion dollars! GWBush would have given a speech that roused the ire of the nation and threatened those damn foreigners for not being on our side. Then he would have held hands with a Saudi prince. Then Halliburton would get a bail-out paid for by the rest of us. And the Gulf would rot away while BP promised that the check was in the mail. We want a good speech, not actual results. Actually it was a pledge to put 5 billion in escrow for each of the next 4 years. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/67 "2010-06-17T03:19:53Z")
> [@elelle](#): > > Not to hijack much, but, tonight I called the Volunteer hotline (1-866-448-5816, btw for all types of effort) to ask about volunteering to help clean oil off of injured wildlife. I have experience with wildlife rehab, specifically with birds, and am considering going down to help if I can swing the time off work. I was informed that you have to be a certified rehabber, and I’m not current, but detailed my experience, and my info was taken, “will get back to”. Since friends have asked, I asked if there were training programs on site for lay volunteers. The answer was no, so, really, right now washing off animals is not open to everyone, they are asking for skilled workers. And I can understand that. > > And, [Tri-State Bird Rescue](http://tristatebird.org/dwh/help) is in charge of clean-up of wildlife, should you want to support the trained people working hard down there. thanks for the update. Sounds like typical bureaucracy. How hard is it to train someone to rehydrate a bird with some pedialyte and pepto bismol to coat it’s GI tract, flush it’s eyes with saline and wash it with canola oil and then a series of soap baths. it’s not rocket science. 4 hrs of certification and up pops a volunteer ready to save the world. I’m sure the animals would vote in favor of sooner rather than later. Wish I had the money to donate. Unemployment sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/68 "2010-06-17T05:12:39Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > It never happened. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/69 "2010-06-17T05:57:56Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Actually it was a pledge to put 5 billion in escrow for each of the next 4 years. That is true. I will eat my words if BP does not follow through. I should have used tastier words. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/70 "2010-06-17T11:22:21Z")
Did Obama answer the question: What the fuck are we doing in the 21st century drilling in such blatantly alien environments for fossil based fuel? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/71 "2010-06-17T11:35:08Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > Did Obama answer the question: What the fuck are we doing in the 21st century drilling in such blatantly alien environments for fossil based fuel? I think most people already know the answer to that one. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/72 "2010-06-17T11:49:42Z")
Is it the same answer as why the USA invades countries thousands of miles away on bogus pretexts? If so, in a way, it’s progress, at least this time the policy is only killing hundreds of thousands of birds. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/73 "2010-06-17T12:33:57Z")
It seems to me that once the oil rig had exploded ,it was like throwing feathers to the wind, I haven’t heard any of the critics come up with a plan to stop the oil from gushing, it isn’t just oil from a tanker. but millions of gallons coming up in a very difficult area. Perhaps if there had been something in place to prevent the oil from spreading in case of an explosion, or leakage, it may have helped. I do not think any president, politition, or scientist can stop the leak in an easy manner now that it has erupted in to the disaster it is, BP is, or should be, the first to want the spillage to stop, not just for the enviremental problems but for the monies they are losing. If Obama stepped in earlier they would say he was taking over the oil industry, no matter what he does, speak etc. he can expect to have critics who expect him to put on a divers suit and stop the oil, or as some super human raise his hand and stop it. He has determined that BP pay for the damage, and the feathers(so to speak are sent to the winds, it will not be an easy task. It is easy for the opposition to make political hay from this disaster, but if anyone else were in charge he would be getting critized too. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/74 "2010-06-17T13:33:22Z")
Geez man, what do people want? All I’ve heard is how awful and useless the speech was and then I read it. He talked about how they’ve responded and renewed the committment to stay on it. He talked about holding BP accountable and making them pay compensation to the people being hurt. Seems like he’s doing that. He talked about examining safty measures and inspections and making sure regulators are doing their job. He talked about how we’ve known for decades that we need to move away from fossil fuels and how this is a grim reminder. He seemed realisitic about the damage done. Towards the end he talked about faith and prayer and I keep hearing about it as if that was 90% of the content. What bullshit! Last night I heard Hannity talking about inaction and asking why it took so long to do something. What did the admin actually do and when? 2ndly; He mentioned the 6 month moritirium on drilling. I’ve also read complaints about that and how it’s hurting all the average workers who depend on the oil industry for a living. We want it both ways don’t we? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/75 "2010-06-17T14:18:14Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > It seems to me that once the oil rig had exploded ,it was like throwing feathers to the wind, I haven’t heard any of the critics come up with a plan to stop the oil from gushing, it isn’t just oil from a tanker. but millions of gallons coming up in a very difficult area. Perhaps if there had been something in place to prevent the oil from spreading in case of an explosion, or leakage, it may have helped. > > I do not think any president, politition, or scientist can stop the leak in an easy manner now that it has erupted in to the disaster it is, BP is, or should be, the first to want the spillage to stop, not just for the enviremental problems but for the monies they are losing. > > If Obama stepped in earlier they would say he was taking over the oil industry, no matter what he does, speak etc. he can expect to have critics who expect him to put on a divers suit and stop the oil, or as some super human raise his hand and stop it. He has determined that BP pay for the damage, and the feathers(so to speak are sent to the winds, it will not be an easy task. > > It is easy for the opposition to make political hay from this disaster, but if anyone else were in charge he would be getting critized too. Obama is going to have to take the hit for delays getting skimmers into the area. The [Dutch](http://www.examiner.com/x-325-Global-Warming-Examiner~y2010m6d12-US-reconsiders-Dutch-offer-to-supply-oil-skimmers)offered their assistance of 4 skimmers systems. The task of plugging the well rests on BP but cleaning up the oil is something the government is expected to accelerate. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/76 "2010-06-17T14:35:09Z")
They had skimmers in the parking lot that BP did not deploy. BP was in charge of cleanup ,because we believed they had expertise and were interested in doing the right thing. They had manuals that claimed they could clean up a spill much bigger than this one was supposed to be. At what point does it become Obama’s problem? The oil companies yesterday admitted that they can not clean up spills. That is their business , but they can not do it. Yet it is Obama’s fault? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/77 "2010-06-17T14:43:05Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > They had skimmers in the parking lot that BP did not deploy. BP was in charge of cleanup ,because we believed they had expertise and were interested in doing the right thing. They had manuals that claimed they could clean up a spill much bigger than this one was supposed to be. At what point does it become Obama’s problem? > The oil companies yesterday admitted that they can not clean up spills. That is their business , but they can not do it. Yet it is Obama’s fault? It becomes Obama’s problem when offers of help are turned down or delayed. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/78 "2010-06-17T14:57:00Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > It becomes Obama’s problem when offers of help are turned down or delayed. So, is your motto “ **Any bum with a boat** ”, or “ **Drop everything and evaluate offers of aid** ”? Sometimes a crisis response effort needs to set its priorities, and work to accomplish them. Naturally, that leaves all the guys sitting in their deck chairs somewhat miffed, as they _always_ know better than the people in charge. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/79 "2010-06-17T15:09:23Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > So, is your motto “ **Any bum with a boat** ”, or “ **Drop everything and evaluate offers of aid** ”? > > Sometimes a crisis response effort needs to set its priorities, and work to accomplish them. > Naturally, that leaves all the guys sitting in their deck chairs somewhat miffed, as they _always_ know better than the people in charge. I’m not sure why all the foot stomping. You act as if the government has no role in this at all or is somehow above comment. The reality is that the government was slow out of the gate responding to the spill. It took over a month to get approval to build the sand berms requested. The Dutch skimming system was originally turned down. These are things that were done on a Federal level. And the Dutch offer was the exact opposite of any bum with a boat. It was a system they developed specifically to handle such an event. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374/80 "2010-06-17T15:41:45Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > The reality is that the government was slow out of the gate responding to the spill. It took over a month to get approval to build the sand berms requested. The Dutch skimming system was originally turned down. These are things that were done on a Federal level. Nah, they did just fine. Jindal’s berms’ll just fuck up the coast with their dredging and sand relocation, might direct a little more oil into the swamps and get Bobby a few votes from the gullible though. The Dutch skimming system was brought in once the backlog of ‘bums with a boat’ was sifted through. Of course you, like the relevent federal agencies knew all about the Dutch Skimming system before the spill even happened, didn’t you? I mean, the damned things are more popular than the BEATLES! It was a total no brainer that the DUTCH were the aid offer to accelerate to lightspeed within seconds of the rig going down, wasn’t it? Well, at least it was to all the really smart deck chair admirals. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-obama-bp-energy-speech-a-failed-opportunity/543374.md?page=5)