the power of cheese

Twitter version:

"Why won't Obama scream and yell and take over the Gulf with his magic powers? Worst president EVER." - Amusing.

I do think there's argument that the government failed to enforce its regulatory framework prior to this situation (though I'm not sure for the most part it should have been regulating in the way it was either), but I don't see what it could have done differently once it happened. Did the US government have an emergency gigantic oil spill plan for capping deep underwater wells that it for some reason withheld from BP? I doubt it.

Should he be more annoyed at BP? Maybe. But here again, I don't see what that would accomplish. As I noted before, oil companies are not likely to want to be in the business of paying for cleaning up oil spills and environmental/economic damages thereof. The best the government can offer is to stay on top of the situation and ensure that the total damages are adequately cataloged so that people may make private or joint claims for restitution and then perhaps arbitrate the eventual disputed claims where BP claims damages were smaller or people claim damages that may or may not exist (or may exist but not to the economic value they request).