James Carville Slams Oil Response

[GannonFan]

While Carville can at times come across as kinda looney, I always thought he has a pretty good sense for the gist of things and the political climate. He was on GMA this morning and was just skewering both the BP response and the Obama response to the oil spill. I thought he was spot on, IMO.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Politics/bp-o ... d=10746519

[mainejeff]

Fairly or unfairly, this will be Obama's Katrina.

Hillary in 2012.

[Ivytalk]

The Rajin' Cajun sure was juiced this morning.

Is he still married to Mary Matalin? I always thought that was an "odd coupling."

[bandl]

The Rajin' Cajun sure was juiced this morning.

Is he still married to Mary Matalin? I always thought that was an "odd coupling."

Yep. I saw them walking down the street together about a week or two ago after having lunch at The Warehouse in Old Town. They used to live down here, but moved out a couple years ago I think. I guess they were visiting.

[GannonFan]

The Rajin' Cajun sure was juiced this morning.

Is he still married to Mary Matalin? I always thought that was an "odd coupling."

Yeah, the whole "we're dyin' down here" was lively. And yeah, they're still married - they were at the Super Bowl last year with the Saints winning. Love conquers all.

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

The Rajin' Cajun sure was juiced this morning.

Is he still married to Mary Matalin? I always thought that was an "odd coupling."

She pitches, he catches.

[dbackjon]

I agree - both are dropping the ball.

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

Nobody is dropping the ball, everyone is doing their best to first stop the oil leak and stop the very limited ecological damage, second get the situation under control so they can use the oil and profit so they can be fined and taxed more so you guys can sleep at night.


It was an accident.

[AZGrizFan]

Fairly or unfairly, this will be Obama's Katrina.

Hillary in 2012.

[89Hen]

Hillary in 2012.

Can you imagine how intolerable Travis would be?

[kalm]

'You're doing a heck of job Salazar(ee).'

[dbackjon]

Can you imagine how intolerable Travis would be?

Worse than if the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots and Celtics all won titles in one year...

[AZGrizFan]

Can you imagine how intolerable Travis would be?

Worse than if the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots and Celtics all won titles in one year...

Except that wasn't what I was rolling my eyes at. This is just as fairly Obama's Katrina as Katrina was Bush's Katrina.

[mainejeff]

Nobody is dropping the ball, everyone is doing their best to first stop the oil leak and stop the very limited ecological damage, second get the situation under control so they can use the oil and profit so they can be fined and taxed more so you guys can sleep at night.


It was an accident.

Your shtick is BORING.

[mainejeff]

Worse than if the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots and Celtics all won titles in one year...

Except that wasn't what I was rolling my eyes at. This is just as fairly Obama's Katrina as Katrina was Bush's Katrina.

Bull Fvcking Sh*t.

[ASUG8]

They've been talking about this "top kill" technique since the thing exploded, with the Coast Guard authorizing it on day 37 We've got dredging ships sitting out there ready to put in place berms to stem the wash of oil into the marshes, but the Coast Guard won't authorize them to start. Hurricane season officially begins next week.

Yep, this is BP's fault, but it will be Obama's Katrina for failure to respond effectively. Hopefully the storms won't spin up until later, and they'll be mild. Spin it how you like, guys, but this will be a large part of Obama's legacy at the end of his term.

[SunCoastBlueHen]

They've been talking about this "top kill" technique since the thing exploded, with the Coast Guard authorizing it on day 37 We've got dredging ships sitting out there ready to put in place berms to stem the wash of oil into the marshes, but the Coast Guard won't authorize them to start. Hurricane season officially begins next week.

Yep, this is BP's fault, but it will be Obama's Katrina for failure to respond effectively. Hopefully the storms won't spin up until later, and they'll be mild. Spin it how you like, guys, but this will be a large part of Obama's legacy at the end of his term.

This thing has been a major clusterfuck all the way around. I heard reports on a local radio show (though I can't verify that they are true) that BP could have tried the "top kill" technique a matter of days after the leak started, but didn't want to lose a reserve with billions of dollars of oil in it. According to the report, once they kill the well they will need to re-lease the land to re-drill the area and would not likely be granted that lease because of what has occured. Could BP really have let this thing leak more than a month in an effort to protect an asset? It doesn't seem that far fetched to me.

[Skjellyfetti]

As bad as the oil spill is... comparisons to Katrina are just retarded.

Hurricanes are fucking forecasted. Who was surprised when the hurricane made landfall on the Gulf Coast? Anyone? No. FEMA (whose specific job it is to respond to emergencies like hurricanes...) failed to provide adequate and BASIC supplies like food, water, and shelter to people after the storm. The head of FEMA was appointed by the President and had no experience remotely in the field. ~2,000 human lives were lost.

The federal government has a role in both of these fuckups. No doubt about it. But, the two are only comparable if you really grasp at straws.

[ASUG8]

They've been talking about this "top kill" technique since the thing exploded, with the Coast Guard authorizing it on day 37 We've got dredging ships sitting out there ready to put in place berms to stem the wash of oil into the marshes, but the Coast Guard won't authorize them to start. Hurricane season officially begins next week.

Yep, this is BP's fault, but it will be Obama's Katrina for failure to respond effectively. Hopefully the storms won't spin up until later, and they'll be mild. Spin it how you like, guys, but this will be a large part of Obama's legacy at the end of his term.

This thing has been a major clusterfuck all the way around. I heard reports on a local radio show (though I can't verify that they are true) that BP could have tried the "top kill" technique a matter of days after the leak started, but didn't want to lose a reserve with billions of dollars of oil in it. According to the report, once they kill the well they will need to re-lease the land to re-drill the area and would not likely be granted that lease because of what has occured. Could BP really have let this thing leak more than a month in an effort to protect an asset? It doesn't seem that far fetched to me.

I hear ya, SCBH, but why the Coast Guard "authorization" on CNN today? Did BP need the government to OK the top kill? Seems the government has been pretty hands off so far so I was surprised to hear that they controlled the authorization of dredging, artifical barrier islands, and the top kill method.

[AZGrizFan]

Except that wasn't what I was rolling my eyes at. This is just as fairly Obama's Katrina as Katrina was Bush's Katrina.

Bull Fvcking Sh*t.

Classic party-line response, mj. I'd expect nothing less from you.

[SunCoastBlueHen]

This thing has been a major clusterfuck all the way around. I heard reports on a local radio show (though I can't verify that they are true) that BP could have tried the "top kill" technique a matter of days after the leak started, but didn't want to lose a reserve with billions of dollars of oil in it. According to the report, once they kill the well they will need to re-lease the land to re-drill the area and would not likely be granted that lease because of what has occured. Could BP really have let this thing leak more than a month in an effort to protect an asset? It doesn't seem that far fetched to me.

I hear ya, SCBH, but why the Coast Guard "authorization" on CNN today? Did BP need the government to OK the top kill? Seems the government has been pretty hands off so far so I was surprised to hear that they controlled the authorization of dredging, artifical barrier islands, and the top kill method.

BP and the goverment share equal blame for this IMHO. I didn't hear anything about the Coast Guard impeding progress of BP efforts, but would be very interested in learning more about that. Are you sure the CG hasn't just been waiting for safer and more ideal sea conditions (within the past few days) to allow this top kill thing to happen?

[AZGrizFan]

As bad as the oil spill is... comparisons to Katrina are just retarded.

Hurricanes are fucking forecasted. Who was surprised when the hurricane made landfall on the Gulf Coast? Anyone? No. FEMA (whose specific job it is to respond to emergencies like hurricanes...) failed to provide adequate and BASIC supplies like food, water, and shelter to people after the storm. The head of FEMA was appointed by the President and had no experience remotely in the field. ~2,000 human lives were lost.

The federal government has a role in both of these fuckups. No doubt about it. But, the two are only comparable if you really grasp at straws.

Imagine that: appointing a head of a critical agency with NO experience in the field:


But apparently only Republicans do that, huh?

Adequate supplies and shelter, huh? I give you:



Maybe if the MAYOR had done his fucking job and not acted like a typical liberal and waiting for the Federal Government to do his job FOR him, this whole thing would have been a non-issue.

[Skjellyfetti]

I hear ya, SCBH, but why the Coast Guard "authorization" on CNN today? Did BP need the government to OK the top kill? Seems the government has been pretty hands off so far so I was surprised to hear that they controlled the authorization of dredging, artifical barrier islands, and the top kill method.

BP kept trying other means... likely (as SCBH said) to preserve their well and keep extracting oil. Once all those failed... the BP CEO decided to go ahead with the "top kill" plan which was approved. This was far from what BP wanted to do... and the government couldn't force them.

[ASUG8]

As bad as the oil spill is... comparisons to Katrina are just retarded.

Hurricanes are fucking forecasted. Who was surprised when the hurricane made landfall on the Gulf Coast? Anyone? No. FEMA (whose specific job it is to respond to emergencies like hurricanes...) failed to provide adequate and BASIC supplies like food, water, and shelter to people after the storm. The head of FEMA was appointed by the President and had no experience remotely in the field. ~2,000 human lives were lost.

The federal government has a role in both of these fuckups. No doubt about it. But, the two are only comparable if you really grasp at straws.

We're over 30 days in and no measurable results have been seen - lots of finger pointing, but little in tangible results.

Wait until a couple of tropical depressions and/or hurricanes pop in, devastate the commercial fishing industry and crush the tourist trade for Florida's gulf coast and tell me the economic impact won't match or eclipse Katrina. That's assuming they can get the plume shut off in a reasonably short manner and the existing spill doesn't hit the loop current and run up the East Coast. Tar balls washing up on the coast in Clearwater and the Keys don't sell many plane tickets.

The government still has an opportunity to be the hero in this by doing something other than blaming the prior administration. FEMA will have an opportunity to respond, as does the military led by the Commander in Chief.

[ASUG8]

I hear ya, SCBH, but why the Coast Guard "authorization" on CNN today? Did BP need the government to OK the top kill? Seems the government has been pretty hands off so far so I was surprised to hear that they controlled the authorization of dredging, artifical barrier islands, and the top kill method.

BP and the goverment share equal blame for this IMHO. I didn't hear anything about the Coast Guard impeding progress of BP efforts, but would be very interested in learning more about that. Are you sure the CG hasn't just been waiting for safer and more ideal sea conditions (within the past few days) to allow this top kill thing to happen?

No question there's shared blame, the majority of which I'd place on BP.
Here's what I was able to find quickly....

After consulting with scientists and experts, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry, the federal on-scene coordinator for the oil spill response effort, granted the final authorization for BP to move forward earlier Wednesday.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/26/gulf.o ... tml?hpt=T1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;