# Why do people think the US is turning against Obama because of the oil spill. It's absurd.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-the-us-is-turning-against-obama-because-of-the-oil-spill-its-absurd/542516>\
**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:** 1\
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**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")

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> [@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.

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