I'm really not one to pile on the President for perceived failings. God knows he has a tough job. And after all, let's remember what the alternative to Obama could be, or what came before.
But tonight's speech on the oil spill was a real disappointment for those who believe a clean energy future is perhaps the only path to job growth, public health, national greatness, and freedom (from dependence on a ecologically and economically destructive fossil fuels).
The President showed that he gets how big a mess the Gulf is and he's changing leadership at the agency that oversees the industry. That's all well and good.
But when it came to reducing the future risk of these kinds of catastrophes, the prescriptions were in short supply. Obama called for accelerating the transition to a clean economy. That's fantastic. But how can we possibly move fast without a price on carbon? (Uber-capitalists John Doerr (Kleiner Perkins) and Jeff Immelt (GE) said it best in "Falling Behind in Green Tech")
How could Obama not use this opportunity to call on us to do some hard things? Imagine if he had asked us to use less oil, accept higher prices for fossil fuels, support legislators that make the hard calls (raising people's gas prices is about the hardest thing a politician can do).
After 9/11, it's been said many times, President Bush only asked us to shop... and nothing else. Obama seems to be making the same mistake.
He did suggest we need a moon shot to get to clean energy and get off the oil. And he harkened back to America's ability to build tanks and planes in WWII. But those examples of American success are 40 and 70 years ago.
What's scary about the speech tonight is that it almost could've been any president in the last four decades. They've all sat in the Oval Office and said 'never again' and 'we're going to find a new energy future.' And yet, here we are, using more fossil fuels than ever.
In the end, the President suggested we all "pray" for courage and the people of the Gulf.
It's truly a shame that that's the only thing he asked us to do.
Follow Andrew Winston on Twitter: www.twitter.com/GreenAdvantage
Joseph A. Palermo: Obama's "Fireside Chat" (FDR or Jimmy Carter?)
Obama's talk tonight was dominated by a technocratic laundry list of actions he plans to take. We've heard it all before. Obama should have made it clear tonight that the coddling of BP is over.
Philip Radford: President Obama: Give Us Our Future Back
Tonight, Obama owes America the unflinching, spin-free truth: The only way to avoid more fossil fuel disasters is to move aggressively away from dangerous energy sources like oil and coal. This is a turning point of immense historical significance.
Doug Kendall: President Washington Would Have Squashed Rick Barber Like a Grape
As every fifth-grader knows, our Founding Fathers rebelled against the British tea taxes primarily because the taxes were imposed upon the colonies without any representation in the British Parliament.
President Barack Obama and his risk-aversive legislators are sending the wrong message to America's entrepreneurs. They equate risk taking with wanton greed and evildoing.
"As BP watches its bill rise quickly for the oil spill, including $20 billion it is setting aside for claims, it could find the tally growing much faster in coming months if the United States Department of Justice files criminal charges against the company.How Much Will BP Really Pay?
How does the public ensure that it doesn’t end up paying for costs of the spill 20 or 30 years out?
Based on the latest estimates, for example, the daily civil fine for the escaping oil alone could be $280 million. But criminal penalties, if imposed, could cause the costs to balloon still further, said David M. Uhlmann, a law professor at the University of Michigan, who headed the environmental crimes section of the Justice Department from 2000 to 2003.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/opinion/17thu1.html?ref=opinion
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/presspol/prizes_lectures/goldsmith_awards/investigative_reporting.html
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060515/15mediatakes.htm
I did not expect this President to be forthright and defend the American people. His psychological profile is a Narcissistic personality with passive-aggressive tendencies. He has manifested passive behavior regarding BP. At least, President Carter had a list of plans to make this nation energy sufficient/efficient. His affective is blunt, passive, ambivalent, emotional detachment. He lacks any vision or leadership quality. He is not a "compassionate" man. He has manifested gross incompetence in this tragic situation. We are in poor hands with this president. I make this comment as a psychotherapist, observing Mr. Obama's behavior and actions so far.
The critics (like Steele) who say it he's trying to use this for political gain are not just insulting, they're ridiculous. Obama should have gone bigger. And he should have been honest. We're deeply screwed and nobody knows what to do.
This is likely to be as defining a moment in our lives as 9-11. We can never go back to the way we were. We need somebody to lead us.
That said. I hesitate to criticize Obama too much. Critics have it easy: they can throw stones without having to come up with solutions. This board is rife with it.
Level-headed criticism is needed, but too often all we hear is partisan rants serving a blatantly political agenda. Many see this disaster only as a weapon to take down the president. They would then replace him with someone more chummy with the oil companies and more dismissive of the environment or clean energy. Those people back the rest of us into a corner with their all or nothing demands. If I have to chose, then I chose to give them nothing. Too bad.
This ecological disaster is very serious indeed.
What many posters seem to have been hoping for was a sort of "HEAD FOR THE HILLS!!!!!" from Obama.
I don't think that's the best approach.
I believe that all his so called appointing others in these positions is misleading as to exactly where to shift blame for his lack of Leadership !
Nuclear Power + Electric Cars + Heat Pumps = Bright Future
We are in a terrible terrible mess.
We have left these problems to fester for a long time. Maybe the best we can hope for from this administration, as it is overmastered by political right wing fatalism and one catastrophe after another, is to keep the issues front and center. They are doing that. He is aware of the problems, he is not ducking them. He just doesn't have the political will or the desire to upset the apple cart that one would need to really re-think how we do things. He waits for consensus and he defers to his underlings with Ivy League degrees.
UNBELIEVABLE: that we will capture all or almost all of the oil by the end of July. No way. How?
SECOND HAND: as the author of this article states, Obama's speech about how we must change our future, the american people are enduring and great yada yada, and we will decrease our dependence on oil could have been given by any President since Jimmy Carter, or even some disingenuous oil executive, for God's sakes. No specific goals set on CAFE standards, Carbon tax, decrease in carbon or green house gases, no clarion call to do specific things as citizens to confront this issue directly;
SCARY: Ending with prayer. I don't understand! Was this a cynical effort to appeal to the religious right? Are things so completely fubarred up and frightening that Obama hopes for a MIRACLE? If more people pray will an angry God relent and stop punishing Obama? Things must be really really bad at the wellhead. How bad? I love God, and pray. But having a President lead a prayer was weird.
http://www.keyboardpolitics.com
But here's the thing. I might have my doubts and fears concerning his shortcomings and the effects they will have on our future. However, I have no doubts about the disaster that would befall us if the Republicans were to seize power once more. And so I say SHAME ON ALL OF YOU!!!
We must stick together. We shouldn't support our candidates blindly. That is for the Republicans to do. But do we really have to eviscerate the man over a speech that didn't quite meet our standards? Do we have to do all we can to destroy his presidency with our vitriol? I am a die-hard liberal, but I have to say that the worst enemy of the Progressive Movement isn't the conservatives, it's the progressives. With friends like us, who needs enemies?
Seriously, come on people. It's game time. Quit screwing around.
I do not think that using such words would get anyone further along when just being yourself and expressing what is in one's Heart, means so very much as a human being !
I have been accused of not being a Patriot, of not being an American and many other things but I dislike people when they think that am not a Human Being ! All I really care about is FIX THE WRONGS ! Do not FIX anything for me but for our CHILDREN and our FUTURE !
Sometimes, it's hard to find meaning ways of all when the few have less understanding.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/wanted-some-belief-in-a-leader-20100615-yd19.html?autostart=1
" Ask not what your country can do for you, But ask your country what you can do for it "