Research Briefing

About Obama’s Lack Of Leadership

In Dealing With BP Oil Spill

Reuters: “Up From The Briny Deep Of The Gulf Of Mexico Came A Nightmare For President Barack Obama.” (Steve Holland, “Up From The Deep Sea: A Nightmare For Obama,” Reuters, 5/27/10)

• Reuters: “Unlike Hurricane Katrina And Its Immediate, Frightful Images Of People In Crisis, The Gushing BP Oil Well Has Been A Slow-Moving Behemoth That Is Now Taking A Political Toll On The U.S. President.” (Steve Holland, “Up From The Deep Sea: A Nightmare For Obama,” Reuters, 5/27/10)

AP: “The Administration Seems To Want To Have It Both Ways — Insisting It's In Charge While Also Insisting That BP Do The Heavy Lifting.” (Tom Raum, “Analysis: As Slick Spreads, So Does Frustration,” The Associated Press, 5/25/10)

• AP: “The White House Is Facing Increasing Questions About Why The Government Can't Assert More Control Over The Handling Of The Catastrophe…” (Greg Bluestein and Erica Werner, “Feds: Government Can't Push BP Aside On Oil Spill,” The Associated Press, 5/24/10)

James Carville: “The Political Stupidity Is Unbelievable… I Have No Idea Of Why They Didn't Seize This Thing. I Have No Idea Of Why Their Attitude Was So Hands Off Here. It’s Just Unbelievable.” (ABC’s “Good Morning America,” 5/26/10)

• Carville: “It Just Looks Like He's Not Involved In This… Man, You Got To Get Down Here And Take Control Of This, Put Somebody In Charge Of This Thing And Get This Moving. We're About To Die Down Here.” (ABC’s “Good Morning America,” 5/26/10)
• Carville: “I Think This Government Has Adopted A Strategy That Is Flawed At Its Very Core, And That Is That They Are In Partnership With BP. They Are Not In Partnership With BP.” (CNN’s “American Morning,” 5/27/10)
• Carville: “I Think [Obama] Is Being Ill-Advised. … I Cannot Stand To Criticize The President Of My Own Party, But We Need Action Down Here.” (CNN’s “American Morning,” 5/27/10)
• Carville: “They Are Risking Everything By This Go-Along-With-BP Strategy They Have. And It -- It Seems, Like, Lackadaisical On This.” (CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees,” 5/20/10)

Chris Matthews: “Just Plug It Up And Then We'll Stop Blame-Gaming.” (Jonathan Tilove And Bruce Alpert, “As Gulf Of Mexico Oil Disaster Wears On, Blame Is Finding Its Way To The White House,” Times-Picayune, 5/24/10)

Democratic Strategist Donna Brazile: “One Of The Problems I Have With The Administration Is That They're Not Tough Enough. They Are Waiting For BP To Say, Oh, We've Got A New Plan To Stop The Oil Leak.” (ABC’s This Week, 5/23/10)

Mika Brzezinski: “No, The Question Is… In Terms Of The Level Of Devastation That We Will See Over A Period… Is This Not A Slow Motion Katrina? And Shouldn't This President And The Media Treat It As One.” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 5/25/10)

CNN’s John Roberts: “Some Have Even Suggested That This Oil Spill Could Turn Out To Be President Obama’s Katrina.” (CNN’s “American Morning,” 5/27/10)

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL): “If This Thing Is Not Fixed Today, The President Doesn't Have Any Choice And He Better Go In And Completely Take Over, Perhaps With The Military In Charge…” (“Democratic Senator Says Obama May Need To 'Take Charge' Of Spill,” CNN’s “Political Ticker” Blog, 5/26/10)

• CNN: “Nelson's Comments Reflect Growing Frustration Among Lawmakers In Congress – Even In The President's Own Party – That The Administration Has Not Done Enough To Stop The Spill And Quell The Damage.” (“Democratic Senator Says Obama May Need To 'Take Charge' Of Spill,” CNN’s “Political Ticker” Blog, 5/26/10)

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA): “The Federal Government Should Be In Charge. … [BP] Need[s] To Be Pushed, In My View, By The Federal Government A Little Harder Than They're Being Pushed Now, Obviously.” (MSNBC’s “The Daily Rundown,” 5/27/10)

Politico: “The Federal Government’s Fault For The Oil Spill Is Falling On Obama, And He Has Got Some Explaining To Do.” (Josh Gerstein and Carol E. Lee, “Seven Questions For Obama,” Politico, 5/27/10)

• Politico: “With Crude Lapping Into The Bayou, Even Obama’s Defenders Have Turned Critical.” (Glenn Thrush And Carol Lee, “Strain Shows As White House Responds To Spill,” Politico, 5/24/10)
• Politico: “A White House That Prides Itself On Operational Competence And Message Discipline Has Been Frustrated By An Environmental Catastrophe It Can’t Predict, Can’t Control And Can’t Out-Message — And The Strain Is Showing.” (Glenn Thrush And Carol Lee, “Strain Shows As White House Responds To Spill,” Politico, 5/24/10)

Billy Nungesser, President Of Plaquemines Parish: “There’s Been A Failure Of Leadership On All Levels. Who In The Hell Is In Charge? … [President Obama] Needs To Get More Personally Involved.” (Glenn Thrush and Carol E. Lee, “W.H. takes heat over spill response,” Politico, 5/24/10)

• “Nungesser Said That When He’s Proposed Other Fixes, He’s Been Shunted To A Procession Of Unresponsive Bureaucrats.” (Glenn Thrush and Carol E. Lee, “W.H. takes heat over spill response,” Politico, 5/24/10)

NPR’s Neal Conan: “[S]tate And Local Officials Complain Bitterly That The Federal Government's Been Too Slow To Send The Equipment Needed To Contain The Gigantic Spill And Too Bureaucratic To Quickly Approve The Alternate Methods Needed To Protect The Coastline.” (“The Federal Government's Role In BP Oil Spill,” NPR, 5/25/10)

Times-Picayune: “Americans Are Growing Impatient With The Obama Administration's Inability To Elicit A More Urgent Response To The BP Oil Spill And To Better Protect And Cleanup The Coast.” (Editorial, “Time for the Obama administration to show who is boss in Gulf of Mexico oil spill response,” The Times-Picayune, 5/25/10)

• TP: “The Federal Government, Which Is Supposed To Ensure That BP Assumes Responsibility For This Disaster, Has Often Acted Timidly During The Crisis.” (Editorial, “Time for the Obama administration to show who is boss in Gulf of Mexico oil spill response,” The Times-Picayune, 5/25/10)
• TP: “More Than Month Into The Spill -- And With No End In Sight -- This Past Weekend May Mark The Moment When Anger And Frustration About The Spill Overtopped BP And Began To Splash On The Carpet In The Oval Office.” (Jonathan Tilove and Bruce Alpert, “As Gulf Of Mexico Oil Disaster Wears On, Blame Is Finding Its Way To The White House,” The Time-Picayune, 5/24/10)

Deano Bonano, Homeland Security Chief In Jefferson Parish: “The Response To The Oil Coming Ashore Should Be Federalized And Put In The Hands Of Professional Emergency Managers And Not Oil Companies.” (Mimi Hall, “Is Oil Spill Becoming Obama’s Katrina,” USA Today, 5/27/10)

• Bonano: “Well, you know, I’m a veteran of Hurricane Katrina and it was very similar to that. A very slow, very disorganized response.” (Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” 5/27/10)           

Gallup: “With President Barack Obama And BP Taking Their Most Aggressive Steps Yet In Response To The Massive Oil Spill In The Gulf Of Mexico, The Majority Of Americans Express Clear Displeasure With Their Efforts So Far.” (Lymari Morales, “Americans Critical of Oil Spill Response; Keeping Close Tabs,” Gallup, 5/27/10)

ABC’s Jake Tapper: “The White House Has In Recent Days Been Criticized By Normally Supportive Political Voices…” (Jake Tapper, “WH: We're On The Case; Jindal: Help!,” ABC News, 5/24/10)

Los Angeles Times: “Critics Charge That The White House Has Been Slow To Act, Creating Its Own Crisis Of Denial A La Hurricane Katrina.” (Johanna Neuman, “White House Slammed For Oil Spill -- Obama's Katrina?,” The Los Angeles Times, 5/24/10)

USA Today: “[T]hose In The Region Say There's A Disconnect Between What The White House Says Is Happening On The Ground And What They See.” (Mimi Hall, “Is Oil Spill Becoming Obama’s Katrina,” USA Today, 5/27/10)

• USAT: “Frustrated Gulf Coast Residents Say They Understand That Only BP Can Plug The Leak. But They Want To Know Why The Federal Government Didn't Act Faster To Stop The Oil From Reaching Shore...” (Mimi Hall, “Is Oil Spill Becoming Obama’s Katrina,” USA Today, 5/27/10)

Small Business Owner Arthur Bradberry: “They Should've Done More From The Start. They Waited Too Late. Now, Of Course, They All Want To Blame Each Other.” (Mimi Hall, “Is Oil Spill Becoming Obama’s Katrina,” USA Today, 5/27/10)

National Journal’s Hotline On Call Blog: “A majority of Americans give Pres. Obama and his admin bad marks for its handling of a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a new National Journal survey ...”  (Reid Wilson, “Majority Unhappy With Obama On Gulf Spill,” National Journal’s “Hotline On Call” Blog, 5/25/10)

Presidential Historian Doug Brinkley: “I Think That The President Has To Get Control Over This Situation… Right Now, There Is A Feeling In The Country That BP's In Charge, But BP Is The One That Has Been Grossly Negligent.” (CNN Wire Staff, “Patience Runs Thin As BP Preps Untested Maneuver To Cap Oil Leak,” CNN, 5/25/10)