THE BIG SPILL---NO MORE DRILL!!

"Drill, Baby, Drill" is a phrase you're not likely to hear real soon. It has been hushed by the largest oil spill in U.S. history---and a president who will surely use it to advance his own agenda, which includes very limited drilling and an alternative energy bill which will tax oil companies for excessive carbon pollution, other wise known as "cap and trade". Highly controversial,this bill has passed the House, but lingers now in the Senate for the President to find the right time to convince the American people to support this bill , the expense of which will surely be passed onto the consumer. As in the past with the economic crisis resulting in unparelled government bailouts, he may have found that moment.

The spill has completely over shadowed every other issue , and President Obama, in an effort to quell criticism of his questionable leadership abilities during this crisis, gave yet another speech Tuesday night in the Oval office of the White House. Proving once again, that he is not a man of few words, Obama spoke forcefully, if not somewhat dis-connectedly regarding his role and that of his administration in punishing those who are responsible, namely BP (British Petroleum).But little was said about cleaning up the mess or stopping the leak, and much focus and blame was put on not only the oil company but also its regulatory agency, MSS (Minerals Management Service). After slapping a job-killing six month moratorium on all off shore drilling, pre the speech, Obama followed by proclaiming that he would request that BP put monies in an "escrow" account to be paid out to all the out of work fishermen and others affected by the spill . The president's tone and demanding demeanor were stunning ---how could even the President of the United States imply such authority over a privately owned company? The more normal procedure for national disaster compensation is to go through our court system--not via presidential pressure.

But Obama exhibited, as usual, his moral outrage and stern fatherly determination to call out those who caused this huge environmental disaster and go after them. One wonders if perhaps the government regulatory agency should also be punished for not doing their jobs---and perhaps Obama himself for not paying more attention---oh, but he was very busy with other issues---like the health care bill and the banks, and the automobile companies---there is just so much one man can do. He can't be expected to run the whole country---can he??

Shocking even Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann, two very left wing political commentators , they broke ranks and very uncharacteristically said that they could not believe Obama's presumed authority to so strongly insist that BP acquiesce to his payout wishes. Would there not be a court battle or at least some time for BP to "lawyer up", they wondered? But, no---the morning after the speech, Obama seemed to have gotten his way. The oil company appeared to have "rolled over" and surprisingly agreed to put aside twenty billion dollars for compensation to the victims of the oil spill. It has also been disclosed that an additional one hundred million will be set aside and eventually disbursed to those put out of work due to the moratorium demanded by President Obama! And this could possibly be just a down payment for more funding if requested by President Obama, as he would not agree to a limit of BP's compensation amount. Under U.S. law, these amounts of money far exceeded the legal requirement, which is seventy five million. Some of the money will come from dividends which were promised earlier to investors--some from profit, and some will undoubtedly show up in the price of gas. At first glance, this all seems wonderfully generous and certainly one does not begrudge the victims of a fair amount of compensation---but does it not make you just a little uncomfortable to see the President wielding so much power over private enterprise? Was this a huge PR attempt by BP? Were the executives so easily and quickly persuaded ---or were they threatened ? And is our capitalistic system threatened when the President can suddenly become their CEO? There is not, nor should there be, any great sympathy for BP---they should have had a better plan in place for such a huge leak, and they are big enough to overcome the financial losses of their financial responsibilities. But accidents do happen and this one should not preclude the argument for drilling our own oil or for more government take over of private enterprise.

President Obama plays the blame game very well, often using former President Bush as his scape goat, but soon it will be time for him to own up to his own mistakes and mis-handlings. No one expects perfection, but this President seems more interested in singling out and punishing those who represent opposing views to his particular ideologies, rather than acting as facilitator and representative of all the people---not just those of his own beliefs. With his approval polls slipping recently and many people beginning to wonder if this man is changing our country too fast and too radically, Obama's speech was more about shoring up his flagging popularity, and showing us all who's boss, than actually doing something about the problem. His reluctance to use our own resources, militarily and with extra booms and other equipment that were available for clean-up of the oil spill, coupled with his refusal to allow other countries to assist, are curious and frustrating.

Does this man belong in the White House? He appears to be noble, with his own vision, but somehow not presidentially able to lead a whole country--which requires more than his own vision. Only time will tell---but there are more and more people, some of whom are in his own party, who are beginning to ask if he may be trying to fulfill a job, to quote Obama himself , that is" above his pay grade"?