# Why do people think the US is turning against Obama because of the oil spill. It's absurd. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 9, 2010, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516 "2010-06-09T06:05:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/1 "2010-06-09T06:05:13Z")
Honestly. One more “Obama’s not fixing the oil spill fast enough. He’s lost credibility!” spew from the media or bloggers and I’m going to lose it. It’s a highly involved technical problem a mile under the water. Do they expect him to get in the Presidential mini-sub and personally go after the leak? The people with the expertise and tools to best go after the leak and the effects of the spill are on it. The older I get the more insane the media looks. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/2 "2010-06-09T06:15:02Z")
US Citizens are fickle. You can see a 5 point drop in approval rating from the president saying _he doesn’t like cabbage_. You honestly think that something like the Oil Spill doesn’t effect public opinion? ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/3 "2010-06-09T06:55:02Z")
The only thing the media loves more than building someone up with false hopes is tearing them down with lies or inflated truths. It happens all the time - look at any disgraced star. It just sells newspapers, it’s entirely mercenary. And the president is the biggest and easiest target there is, they would have to be stupid to miss the opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/4 "2010-06-09T07:01:51Z")
Look, even [George Washington had to fight a Bengal tiger on a boat during a hurricane](http://nextround.net/upcoming/thumbs/2010/03/12/George-Washington-Fighting-A-Bengal-Tiger-On-A-Sinking-Boat-During-A-Hurricane-full.jpg) in order to keep his approval rating up. Americans by nature are fickle. It comes from our English ancestry. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/5 "2010-06-09T09:08:19Z")
I thought he was supposed to be your President, not your Cleaning Lady. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/6 "2010-06-09T10:01:43Z")
Mr Obama had a reputation in Illinois for being a “do nothing,” long before he even became sentator. In fact the big joke was “What did Obama do since he was elected Senator” “He went on Oprah and ran for president.” In reality, he didn’t do much as a Senator or at the state level. He was decidedly medioce or average in his records. I guess in this case being average isn’t necessarily a bad thing. His opponent in his Senate bid was involved in a scandal and Obama was in the right place, at the right time to be swept in. Mr Obama’s last big project, Health Care Reform, got passed, well barely, but it got passed. But only now are people starting to realize it’s gonna take four years more or less before we see results. Though to be fair, some of it will kick in sooner. So the result is, you did something but what? Where is the result, in otherwords…“Show me the money.” Now as for the oil spill, we saw what happened to GW Bush with Katrina. There was nothing GW Bush, himself could’ve done, so why waste money visiting. But the president needs to SHOW he cares, even if he doesn’t. Oil spills cause a lot of frustration. Mainly because we Americans like oil and it re-enforces a need to re-examine our lust for oil. Sure we all complain, but heaven forbid we should actually walk or buy an economical car or reduce our speed limit, unless forced to. The public sees BP as a billion dollar company (and the fact it has the name BRITISH Petroleum doesn’t help). We Americans see some foreign company (remember the name BRITISH) coming in polluting our waters and now the won’t clean it up proper and probably will 'cause oil prices to go up, with all the wasted oil. Whenever prices of oil, even MAY go up, conspiracy theories abound. It’s all about appearences. And it’s not even at a presidental level. We all have not got jobs because we weren’t “appropriate looking enough.” Or lost a chance at a date or whatever all for the sake of appearences. As Eric Davidson the governor of Wentworth Detention Center on the fiction “Prisoner” (“Prisoner: Cell Block H”) once told evil prison warder Jock Stewart, who explained he wasn’t taking a kickback he was receiving money he had lent someone… "Mr Stuart, in our line of work it isn’t enough just to _ **BE** _ honest, we must be _ **SEEN** _ to be honest at all times. So the basic is true. It isn’t enough to care about the oil spill or to be angry about it. We must be SEEN to be angry and caring and actually DOING something about it ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/7 "2010-06-09T12:51:57Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Honestly. One more “Obama’s not fixing the oil spill fast enough. He’s lost credibility!” spew from the media or bloggers and I’m going to lose it. It’s a highly involved technical problem a mile under the water. Do they expect him to get in the Presidential mini-sub and personally go after the leak? > > The people with the expertise and tools to best go after the leak and the effects of the spill are on it. The older I get the more insane the media looks. A large part of the issue is that Obama has been running his yap incessantly and taking every opportunity for a photo-op that he can, instead of, you know, actually doing something. Like making the Navy and/or the Coast Guard available to assist with the deep water efforts. Like not spearhead an effort to drop hay on the oil, which would absorb it and be really easy to clean up. Little things like that. ---
**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 9, 2010, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/8 "2010-06-09T13:06:42Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > A large part of the issue is that Obama has been running his yap incessantly and taking every opportunity for a photo-op that he can, instead of, you know, actually doing something. Like making the Navy and/or the Coast Guard available to assist with the deep water efforts. Like not spearhead an effort to drop hay on the oil, which would absorb it and be really easy to clean up. Little things like that. Jeebus, I got a thread full of people [over here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=12554092) complaining that he hasn’t done _enough_ photo ops and PR about the oil spill. > [@What should Obama do about the BP oil spill?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-obama-do-about-the-bp-oil-spill/541638/3): > > He is supposed to be looking more presidential. He is supposed to be standing on the shoreline, pointing his finger outward at this or that, and issuing orders to a bunch of admirals and bureaucrats. > > Seriously. > > He doesn’t appear engaged. He should have an oil spill czar who briefs the press every single day. > [@What should Obama do about the BP oil spill?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-obama-do-about-the-bp-oil-spill/541638/8): > > I think he just needs to manage this better from a PR perspective. He should be on the ground there at least once a week talking to business owners, fishermen, etc. While I don’t think there is much they can do to plug the leak, they certainly should try to appear to be treating it as more of an emergency. > [@What should Obama do about the BP oil spill?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-obama-do-about-the-bp-oil-spill/541638/22): > > Get in front of the story. The Holder speech should have been on day 10 not day 40. At some point, we Americans should be assured that somehow BP is not going to get away by not paying for the cleanup and will be still allowed sucking money out of the seafloor to _not_ pay for the cleanup. The President is our political leader and he needs to act as such. > [@What should Obama do about the BP oil spill?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-obama-do-about-the-bp-oil-spill/541638/24): > > I think the thing that Obama is missing is Leadership. > > Of course he doesn’t have the know-how or the time or whatever to fly down there and start combing out tar balls, but by not doing the types of things that Boyo Jim suggested above, he just looks like he’s ignoring it. > [@What should Obama do about the BP oil spill?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-obama-do-about-the-bp-oil-spill/541638/36): > > Since there’s truly little that government intervention can achieve, the criticism amounts to people expecting Obama to spend tax dollars putting on a show for the electorate. I for one am glad he hasn’t. > [@What should Obama do about the BP oil spill?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-obama-do-about-the-bp-oil-spill/541638/78): > > Most people think he is twidling his thumbs. He should be standing in a bunch of soldiers who are picking up oily birds while thay tell the TV cameras that they have been at it for weeks. There’s no pleasing people. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/9 "2010-06-09T15:28:48Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Mr Obama I don’t care whether or not you like the man, proper formatting demands you call him _President_, not Mister. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/10 "2010-06-09T15:46:52Z")
Moving from IMHO to MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/11 "2010-06-09T16:19:01Z")
> [@Todderbob](#): > > I don’t care whether or not you like the man, proper formatting demands you call him _President_, not Mister. I was going to comment on his constantly doing this (not just in this thread) and his un-American use of “Mr.” without the period and let the reader decide the worth of his opinion on the current President. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/12 "2010-06-09T21:57:58Z")
> [@Todderbob](#): > > I don’t care whether or not you like the man, proper formatting demands you call him _President_, not Mister. Feh. Most of us referred to Bush as “Bush” or worse. We’re not writing for the Times here. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/13 "2010-06-10T00:32:40Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Mr Obama had a reputation in Illinois for being a “do nothing,” long before he even became sentator. In fact the big joke was “What did Obama do since he was elected Senator” “He went on Oprah and ran for president.” In reality, he didn’t do much as a Senator or at the state level. He was decidedly medioce or average in his records. I guess in this case being average isn’t necessarily a bad thing. His opponent in his Senate bid was involved in a scandal and Obama was in the right place, at the right time to be swept in. > > Mr Obama’s last big project, Health Care Reform, got passed, well barely, but it got passed. But only now are people starting to realize it’s gonna take four years more or less before we see results. Though to be fair, some of it will kick in sooner. So the result is, you did something but what? Where is the result, in otherwords…“Show me the money.” > > Now as for the oil spill, we saw what happened to GW Bush with Katrina. There was nothing GW Bush, himself could’ve done, so why waste money visiting. But the president needs to SHOW he cares, even if he doesn’t. > > Oil spills cause a lot of frustration. Mainly because we Americans like oil and it re-enforces a need to re-examine our lust for oil. Sure we all complain, but heaven forbid we should actually walk or buy an economical car or reduce our speed limit, unless forced to. > > The public sees BP as a billion dollar company (and the fact it has the name BRITISH Petroleum doesn’t help). We Americans see some foreign company (remember the name BRITISH) coming in polluting our waters and now the won’t clean it up proper and probably will 'cause oil prices to go up, with all the wasted oil. > > Whenever prices of oil, even MAY go up, conspiracy theories abound. > > It’s all about appearences. And it’s not even at a presidental level. We all have not got jobs because we weren’t “appropriate looking enough.” Or lost a chance at a date or whatever all for the sake of appearences. > > As Eric Davidson the governor of Wentworth Detention Center on the fiction “Prisoner” (“Prisoner: Cell Block H”) once told evil prison warder Jock Stewart, who explained he wasn’t taking a kickback he was receiving money he had lent someone… > > "Mr Stuart, in our line of work it isn’t enough just to _ **BE** _ honest, we must be _ **SEEN** _ to be honest at all times. > > So the basic is true. It isn’t enough to care about the oil spill or to be angry about it. We must be SEEN to be angry and caring and actually DOING something about it I hope you’ve taken a nap (or sobered up) since you wrote this. Really, go get some sleep. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/14 "2010-06-10T03:15:11Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Do they expect him to get in the Presidential mini-sub and personally go after the leak? Maybe they expected Barry Obamessiah to walk on the water out to the leak, then dive down and fix it with his bare hands. Or at least to just say the word, and the leak would be healed. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/15 "2010-06-10T03:24:53Z")
If he did, Republicans would immediately accuse him of showing off and ask how he’s got time to be wandering around the Gulf of Mexico when there’s Important Work to be done in Washington. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/16 "2010-06-10T03:36:55Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > There’s no pleasing people. Yup. We’ve had a couple of spills here lately and I’m torn. I (and a lot of other people) get the shits with the endless and utterly pointless parade of politicians"inspecting the scene", often diverting expensive and much needed operational resources. However, I also have some sympathy for them knowing that, dumbass as it may be, if they are not seen to be there they will be regarded as heartless, disinterested etc. If they put in an 18 hour day in the office, on the phone actually directing things, phoning contacts, making decisions, etc they might achieve something practical but they would get no credit whatever. Democracy is a stupid system the only positive attribute of which is that it is better than any other system. ---
**Author:** ![SeaCanary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@SeaCanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaCanary)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/17 "2010-06-10T14:48:33Z")
I can’t figure out a way to not make this inflammatory. The topic, itself, is inflammatory so maybe there is no way. But let me be crystal clear right at the very beginning that I understand and agree that America’s love of cheap petroleum is at the most fundamental root of this disaster. I agree with anyone and everyone that says this. That being said, here are things the President can actually do about the BP oil disaster besides monitoring it (whatever that means). [ul] [li]cancel all of his social and political events,[/li][li]convene an emergency response team of the best scientific minds in the world,[/li][li]announce a clear plan of clean-up actions,[/li][li]install all relevant Cabinet officials in a Gulf Coast command center to direct the actions,[/li][li]make daily reports on progress to the public,[/li][li]fire a mess of failed regulators,[/li][li]go to Congress with sweeping legislation to replace America’s oil dependency with a crash program of conservation and renewable energy sources and[/li][li]Instead of monitoring the BP criminals, prosecute them.[/li][/ul] All of this is taken almost word-for-word from a column by Jim Hightower called “Who the Hell’s in Charge Here? BP Disaster Caused by a Nasty Mix of Government Impotence and Corporate Rule” that appeared in [http://www.alternet.org](http://www.alternet.org) on June 2, 2010 ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/18 "2010-06-10T16:48:22Z")
One of the downsides of being president is that any large disaster is automatically your fault. Realistically, it wasn’t Bush’s fault that FEMA screwed up the response to Katrina, any more than the president can be blamed if the FBI botches an investigation. However, he still took plenty of heat for it. Similarly, even tho Obama can’t really do anything more than he’s doing now, the shit still flies into his face. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/19 "2010-06-10T17:03:30Z")
[li]cancel all of his social and political events,[/li]Grinding all other Presidential business to a halt to accomplish…what? There’s only so much time required for him to issue orders and commentary on the matter, and it’s not really a practical use of his time to personally paddle out with a couple of buckets and scoop up oil by hand. While the spill situation certainly should be commanding a significant amount of his time and attention, he would be (justifiably) criticized even more for abandoning all his other duties to twiddle his thumbs while watching it. [li]convene an emergency response team of the best scientific minds in the world,[/li]He has [convened a team of scientists and engineers to explore solutions](http://gizmodo.com/5539842/meet-the-team-of-all-star-scientists-obama-assembled-to-fix-the-oil-spill). They are presumably thinking and planning. [li]announce a clear plan of clean-up actions,[/li]This, presumably, is part of what the team of scientists and engineers are thinking and planning about. You have to have a clear plan before you can announce it, and committing to a poorly thought-out plan for a task that’s going to take years would be foolish. [li]install all relevant Cabinet officials in a Gulf Coast command center to direct the actions,[/li]Which would those be? What other duties would they have to neglect to up stakes and head down to the Gulf? Why would they be more effective on the coast, in an improvised facility, than in Washington with their regular communication hub and support network around them? Modern communications mean that you don’t have to be physically present to direct activity. [li]make daily reports on progress to the public,[/li]As far as I know, he’s been reporting when new information or plans come to light. Would it do any good to make repeated appearances just to say, “This situation has not changed. We are continuing to do the same things I told you about yesterday.” Again, is that really a good use of his time? Or is it just another opportunity for his political opponents to make a little more hay? [li]fire a mess of failed regulators,[/li]First, he has to figure out who failed and why. Did they fail because they were negligent? Because they were lied to? Because their hands were tied by legislatively-directed deregulation? Sure, some heads need to roll, but they need to be the _right_ heads, for the right reasons. [li]go to Congress with sweeping legislation to replace America’s oil dependency with a crash program of conservation and renewable energy sources[/li]I would imagine that he’s working on it, or rather, has people working on it under his direction. Whatever it is, it’s going to face stiff opposition from Republicans, who would oppose him if he presented a plan to give all Republicans a thousand bucks and a week of vacation. It doesn’t just have to be a good plan, it has to be a good plan that can get through the Senate. [li]Instead of monitoring the BP criminals, prosecute them.[/li]I would assume that cases are being built. It seems to me that good prosecutors don’t like to make announcements while they’re building their cases–it just gives the suspects more time and warning to hide or destroy evidence in various ways. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516/20 "2010-06-10T17:03:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Realistically, it wasn’t Bush’s fault that FEMA screwed up the response to Katrina Plenty of people feel that by reducing FEMA’s capabilities (ironically after beefing them up in response to public outcry over poor FEMA response after a previous hurricane in Florida), putting it under the control of the Department of Homeland Security, and putting Michael Brown in charge of it, Bush did have something to do with FEMA’s ability to respond. Brown himself protested subsuming FEMA under Homeland Security, and predicted that it would impair response. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516.md?page=2)