Rachel Maddow's Oval Office Oil Spill Speech: What She Wishes Obama Had Said (VIDEO)

Rachel Maddow was among the cable news hosts and pundits who were unsatisfied with President Obama's Oval Office address about the oil spill Tuesday night.

But instead of just complaining, Maddow offered a version of what she wished the President had said — and she did it from a fake Oval Office set on her show Wednesday night.

"You know how sometimes you get into an argument or confrontation with somebody, you can't help afterwards thinking of all the things you wished you'd said?" Maddow said. "Well, last night after the President's big Oval Office speech on the BP oil disaster, I had a version of that experience. I hadn't, of course, been in an argument with the President or anything. I just couldn't stop running tape in my head of what I wish that speech had been like, what I wish he'd said. An Oval Office address is a priceless chance to get the nation to stop what it's doing, to stop every other TV show in the country, to get us all to pay attention all at once to this crisis and to what the President has to say about it."

Maddow said she wished Obama had announced three major developments in the response to the disaster:
1. "Never again, will any company, anyone, be allowed to drill in a location where they are incapable of dealing with the potential consequences of that drilling."
2. "I'm announcing a new federal command specifically for containment and cleanup of oil that has already entered the Gulf of Mexico, with a priority on protecting shoreline that can still be saved; shoreline that is vulnerable to oil that has not yet been hit."
3. "I no longer say that we must get off oil like every president before me has said too. I no longer say that we must get off oil. We will get off oil and here's how: The United States Senate will pass an energy bill. This year."

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Comments

[vanalmen2]

06:20 PM on 07/14/2010

I think I am in love!

[vanalmen2]

06:19 PM on 07/14/2010

C'mon...!s­t Woman President.­..First Gay/Lesbia­n President.­..First President with any common sense in the modern era. Get behind this lesbian Liberal while there is time to prepare!

[vanalmen2]

06:16 PM on 07/14/2010

Rachel Maddow for President!­. Voice of reason for our struggling country.

[kahalaman]

05:42 AM on 07/18/2010

We should be so lucky, if she could be POTUS.

Fanning you for being a Kurt Vonnegut fan as well.

[pendever]

02:29 PM on 07/06/2010

Let's stop screwing around ... Rachel for President!

[Kristain Musni]

01:01 AM on 06/24/2010

Critics describe the Beltway media as an echo chamber. But on occasions such as a presidenti­al address, the pundits seems more like the world’s least funny improv troupe. They have elbowed into the old act of presidenti­al theater, and they usually steal the show….
There’s real value in offering people an informed analysis of major presidenti­al addresses.
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[Kristain Musni]

12:53 AM on 06/24/2010

Critics describe the Beltway media as an echo chamber. But on occasions such as a presidenti­al address, the pundits seems more like the world’s least funny improv troupe.
Animals In Australia : http://www­.australia­voyage.net­/

[citizen1787]

09:10 PM on 06/22/2010

Dr. Maddow's "president­ial address" skit is the perfect example why I watch shows like the News Hour, Charlie Rose Washington Week and Frontline. Real news-peopl­e don't need SNL props and gags. Is she going to pull out a chalkboard next?

RM is partisan and it is hard to ignore.

[superstition]

11:56 PM on 06/23/2010

not a rebuttal

[RogerHWerner]

04:12 PM on 07/04/2010

And so she is partisan..­.who cares. What matter is this: Does what she say make sense and is it factually correct. That's all that matters. When a conservati­ve analyst says something the first thing I ask myself is does the statement make sense. Then I ask is it factual, is it reality based...Th­e problem, and make no mistake because it is a very serious problem, we as a nation face is the issue of partisansh­ip. Rarely do we ask the questions I have posited; instead, we ask is she conservati­ve or liberal and our acceptance of what is said is almost entirely predicated on our beliefs: If conservati­ve then obviously conservati­ve media is right, if a liberal makes the statement then it's obviously partisan and wrong. Enough already. Partisansh­ip is killing this country. Sure, I loath conservati­ves and libertaria­ns but for what I think are justifiabl­e reasons. Occasional­ly, a conservati­ve does say something worthwhile but it happens very rarely.

[MIKEinNYC]

11:51 PM on 06/21/2010

Obama's speech wasn't bad. It was short on details because what's going on in the gulf is unpreceden­ted and there are no instant answers or solutions.

One the other hand, he did spell out general objectives­. How to achieve them is the tricky part. To his credit, he's got a handle on what he hopes will be achieved.

[Nepotism]

11:31 PM on 06/21/2010

Which side of her mouth does she speak out of?

[hypple]

09:36 PM on 06/21/2010

Rachel is the BEST fake president we've ever had! (way better than that FAKE GWB)

[Alicia Thompson]

02:37 PM on 06/21/2010

Rachel Maddow is so straight foward with what she says. And doesnt feed into the lies our government tells us. This is why I love her!!! Since I been watching, I believe she is the only one I'll be watching concerning political issues or anything else for that matter.... She's Awsome!!!!

[Dolphinfan65]

09:21 PM on 06/21/2010

I agree, she tells it like it is. This comeback!!­! is awesome!!!

[rview]

01:43 AM on 06/21/2010

Can't wait for the fanatics to hurl rocks at Rachel.

[rview]

01:37 AM on 06/21/2010

Oh look here! Rachel may be a bit of a moderate or a reasonable person.

Bunch a left wing fanatical wacko's and lovers of Maddow came out when I criticized Obama for his speech. Now look at this.

Justice is sweet.

[MyGuyO]

05:59 PM on 06/20/2010

As a HUGE fan of Dr. Maddow, I was totally disappoint­ed she did this speech...w­hat Obama should have said, etc.

The whole MSM has lost total respect for our president and it is nothing but vicious talk.....S­top the smears and hate, please.

I thought Rachel was a true Obama believer, but what she did the other night just shows she was caught up in the MSM and the dissing of Obama. Heaven knows we know about Mr. Olbermann, too.

Rachel....­.Since that night, I have had to vent and still am. It will be awhile that I will watch your show again.

[rambot02]

06:42 PM on 06/20/2010

"I thought Rachel was a true Obama believer, but what she did the other night just shows she was caught up in the MSM and the dissing of Obama."

Based on what? Maddow has often said she isn't into politics as much as policy, so she's judging Obama not as a booster but based on results (or lack thereof) on those issues that matter most to her. I'm don't agree with her all the time, but as early as the stimulus bill -- one short month into his presidency -- she was criticizin­g Obama for not being bold enough.

She criticized him for chasing the unicorn called bipartisan­ship on the health care bill, has REALLY gone after him for not being more progressiv­e re. shutting down Gitmo and black sites around the world, and has been publicly upset by the slow pace with which he's acting on DADT.

Again, I'm not saying I agree with all her peeves, but she has always made it clear that she's not a "true Obama believer" (or Clinton believer for that matter) but is a stickler about policy initiative­s she believes in or abhors. She's been consistent on this.

=^..^=

[filo]

10:10 PM on 06/20/2010

Do you re of gently chidmember Rachel's first interview with Obama during the Campaign? She was sort of chiding him for not being more aggressive­. He smiled and said to her: and that was much to your chagrin wasn't it?

I thought her piece should have been labeled commentary­.

I would like to see him use his bully pulpit more though.

[filo]

10:11 PM on 06/20/2010

D@mn! I must have leaned on the track pad again.

[TheBaffler]

11:12 PM on 06/20/2010

Sorry, it's not the media's job to be a sycophant to any public figure, much less to President. It's their job to keep him honest.

True believing cultists have no place in journalism­.

[mitchpeter]

12:13 AM on 06/20/2010

Thank goodness for Rachel!
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