I normally wouldn’t touch a subject like this, because as a rule I think we need less government, not more.
However, the Gulf Oil Spill has become a national crisis with BP completely dropping the ball. Listening to BP’s CEO and marketing machine, it reminds me of speeches from George W. Bush where he would say, over and over again, “we’re working really, really hard…. this is a really hard problem”. Clearly, BP just wasn’t prepared for this type of accident. That is their biggest failure, they didn’t spend any of their $7 billion in net cash flow, each 90 days, on making sure they have back-ups, on back-ups. They should of hired NASA to review their disaster plan.
How is this national disaster different than 911? With 911, Mayor Rudy Giuliani TOOK charge and coordinated all the efforts on the ground. Was he perfect? No. Did he lead, hell yes. Mayor Giuliani didn’t focus on his speeches, he focused on his action plan, what assets he had on the ground, what he needed and then went to work. There was no question Mayor Giuliani was the leader on the ground. Obama, has once again failed to lead. I, like many of you, give him an “F” in his handling of this national environmental disaster. I keep waiting to see an action plan from the white house and all I see is political finger pointing. Obama can use his LOUD VOICE all he wants, it isn’t going to help solve the problem. So I’m going to give him one suggestion, which would really help…
Put Vice President Joe Biden in charge of the recovery.
Even though he lacks any experience or leadership, he does have the ability to cut through the red tape. He should be acting as the full time Spill Recovery Chief. His office should be moved to ground zero and he should bring the full weight of the white house with him. What can he do? He can cut through all of the red tape. If you listen to the five state governors, house and senate representatives of the gulf, they all share a common message – they can’t coordinate all of the federal and state agencies to get on the same page. BP comes up with a plan, then must get it approved by the U.S. Coast Guard,U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Fish & Wildlife, FEMA and 20 other state and federal agencies. Each has veto authority. As Alabama’s Governor Bob Riley has said, “We have no idea who is in control…there is absolutely no point where we ever have a resolution to any problem.” It’s truly a mess since any agency can say, “no you can’t do that” forcing them start the entire process over. That is why nothing is getting done. That is why they are not trying solutions like using hay to soak the oil, or testing the 32 centrifuge machines manufactured by Ocean Therapy Solutions (the company Kevin Costner funded). He could clear the way to get more booms, skimmers, create more barriers and try other solutions.
If VP Joe Biden just solved this problem and created a proper chain of command to bring focus and leadership to an action plan, it would be a step in the right direction. Give the Governors the air support they need and get all the agencies working together. Nothing could be more important for VP Joe Biden, or the white house for that matter.
…Jim