http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=37514President Obama addressed the nation on the Gulf oil spill, and told the American people how he has been doing all he can to “plug the damn hole” and whose behind he might kick.
Since his strategy dealing with the spill seems lacking thus far, Redstate editor Erick Erickson has compiled a Top 10 list of things to alleviate the disaster that Obama could have done but didn’t.
1. Accepted help from the Netherlands when they offered it shortly after the accident. The Dutch, experienced in the oil business, offered prompt help for oil skimming booms and plans to create barriers to stop the oil from infiltrating into wetland areas.
2. Suspended the Jones Act, as President Bush did after Katrina, to allow foreign vessels into American waters to assist with recovery without having to swap ships and transfer equipment onto American flagged vessels.
3. Suspended the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage laws, as President Bush did after Katrina, to allow rapid deployment of new workers to help with containment efforts.
4. Suspended FEMA contracting and bidding rules, as President Bush did after Katrina, to allow a more rapid assignment of contracts to assist with the recovery effort.
5. Allowed coastal governors to immediately begin dredging to create barrier islands.
6. Talked to BP's CEO to establish initial metrics for progress to gauge BP's response so the federal government would have ascertainable metrics to determine when federal intervention was needed. Heck, he should have talked to BP's CEO period.
7. Not imposed a blanket deep water drilling moratorium, further crippling economies in coastal communities.
8. Talked to experts about how to fix the problem instead of trying to figure out whose "ass to kick."
9. Not waited to act lest he be seen as owning the situation. Guess what? He owns it now so why is he still on the golf course?
10. Not have wasted time trying to blame the accident on George Bush before diving in to take responsibility.
Wine is sunlight, held together by water - Galileo Galilei
Un jour sans vin est comme un jour sans soleil - Louis Pasteur
Water separates the people of the world; wine unites them - anonymous
Wine is the most civilized thing in the world - Ernest Hemingway
Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance - Benjamin Franklin
