Day Forty Four: Isn't it time to call in Aquaman and MacGuyver to stop this?

"Y'all gon' make me lose my mind up in HERE, up in here." - DMX

Nope, the title of this post isn't the name of one of the next up and coming soon to be defunct R&B group by my man Diddy. It actually represents just how many days (as I type this post) that that oil is being dumped into the Gulf of Mexico. And the big question on the minds of everyone, is when will it all end?

Now the president has been taking a beating from just about everybody on this one; similarly, BP has as well in the court of public opinion. But, just as you and I know, every "disaster" has to have a face. And in this case, that face just happens to be Barack Obama's.

Getting in on the act recently was one of his unlikely supporters, Colin Powell:

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday that President Barack Obama has moved too slowly in asserting leadership over the Gulf spill response - and the time has come for a "comprehensive and total attack" on the problem.

Powell, speaking to Jake Tapper on ABC's "This Week," said he believed the military could be deployed in greater numbers to help deal with the clean-up , but that they would be of limited help.

Powell, an Obama supporter in the 2008 presidential campaign said: "The president correctly said the other day that he's been monitoring and following and has essentially been on top of it from the beginning, but that impression was not conveyed to the American people, and the comprehensive speech he gave the other day I think he would have been better served and the nation would have been better served if he had given it a few weeks earlier.”

"I have watched a number of these kinds of crises come and go…and in every instance what I have sort of learned from all these is that the national government the federal government, the president has to get involved as quickly as possible," Powell added. "If you don’t, public opinion starts to drag you, the media pushes you.” (source)

I firmly respect Powell, and I always have. And on this one - unlike some of the Republican nutjobs who  offer criticisms of Obama's handling of this situation - Colin Powell makes a heck of a lot of sense.  The president has lost some political capital in the eyes of the public, and the folks over at Fox News. And it is for this very reason, that the president now has to "show and prove," as we say in the streets.

James Carville on Obama's BP oil spill debacle: It's the environment, stupid!

So it appears that president Obama has come under fire for his response to BP, in regards to the thirty days plus and counting oil spill in the Gulf. Not exactly as insignificant and easy to clean up as a Jheri curl stain on the back of your couch. But environmentalist, bloggers, and everyday regular citizens alike are upset.

Sheryl Contee aka"Jill Tubman" from the blog Jack & Jill Politics wrote a pretty scathing piece critiquing the response of the president. Her piece features the below video, and commentary of Democratic political strategist, and Louisiana native James Carville.

Here's an excerpt:

I’ve held my tongue about the oil spill in part because I wanted to support the president I admire so much and in part because it’s like a rolling nightmare everyday knowing that oil is just gushing without stop into our ocean. Lives have been lost already — human ones. And every oil-covered bird or turtle breaks my heart. The true toll on animals and plants — including some we like to eat — is yet to come. For the people of the gulf region, lives and livelihoods are being destroyed at an unknown scope because BP can’t — or won’t — stop the oil.

I agree with James Carville and share his frustration. Check out the video above. I want to knock loudly on the White House’s door and ask — is anyone home??? Where is the focus — if clearly not on this? I’m guessing it’s been somewhere between moving Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in Congress (YAY!) and preventing all-out war between South and North Korea (also very important).

Still, why was there not a Haiti-like all-in dedicated effort on the part of the administration. I get that they wanted the focus to be on BP and make it about their screwup and their need to clean it up. But it’s not that simple now, is it? It’s clear that there was inadequate enforcement by the Mineral Management Service, which loosened up under the Bush Administration and apparently wasn’t tightened up enough under Obama’s guy in charge of that: Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar. Um, exactly why hasn’t that guy been fired yet, btw?

If there was ever proof that President Obama is no socialist and far from being a communist, well Tea Party, you can rest easy. Because Obama has clearly allowed himself to be soothed by BP’s promises and lies about how much oil was actually coming up and how they were going to be a good corporate citizen and pay for everything — that he dropped the ball. He blew it. When Bobby Jindal looks like a hero, you know things have gotten off track. Rather than taking a tough tone re: BP after the first week or even for pete’s sake — the SECOND WEEK and using this as an opportunity to talk yet again about the need for a green economy, we heard the same kind of soothing, baby talk nonsense that I assume the administration was rolling downhill from BP. (Read More)

Her piece was met with much criticism from more than a few of her regular readers. To me, this was very disappointing. I mean here was an honest opinion from an Obama supporter being met with vitriolic commentary that questioned her level of education and intellect. I believe her analysis to be valid, and like her, I too agree with James Carville.

Of course I realize that the president is unable to jump into a phone booth whip out his cape and fly to the bottom of the Gulf and plug the source of the leak. However, I don't think that many Americans have that expectation of him. Americans are simple minded people; for the most part we're satisfied with tough talk to pacify our frustrations; tough talk we have yet to see from my man Barry-O.