Obama's speech: There's a pipe spewing a gazillion gobs of oil into the gulf, so let's build more windmills

Gov. Charlie Crist checks a Florida beach for signs of oil

For all his reputation as the nation's Top Talker, Barack Obama took his sweet time giving a maiden Oval Office address to the country. And waiting another nearly 60 days to speak nationally about the oil spill that’s become the worst environmental disaster in the nation’s history.

Obama, the first modern president to pass his first full year in office without addressing the country from his historic desk, had the setting right. Just back from a day-and-a-half on the gulf coast listening, reassuring, talking tourism, eating seafood. He wore the proper suit, had the requisite flags and family photos in the background.

For 18 minutes he delivered the words crisply and forthrightly, though too often distracting anxious viewers with his fidgeting hands like the lecturing professor he once was. Or wait! Was Mr. Cool nervous? (See video below.)

Obama had the firmness down OK: Make no mistake etc. We will hold BP accountable etc. He....

...had the God references. The talk of real live shrimpers devastated. An American way of life threatened. And though he likened the spill more to an epidemic, he also brought in the requisite battle metaphors. And, has Obama ever mentioned, there's another Nobel Prize winner in his cabinet, Stephen Chu, who hasn't been able to stop the oil leak either?

But there was something wrong. The first two-thirds of the president's remarks read just fine (Full text over here on The Ticket as usual). By golly, we’ll get the money, we’ll clean it up, no matter how long it takes.

But watching the president and hearing him was a little creepy; that early portion of the address was robotic, lacked real energy, enthusiasm. And worst of all specifics. He was virtually detail-less.

After almost two months of waiting through continuously contradictory reports, an anxious American public wanted to know, HOW are you going to accomplish all this?

Even Obama's cheerleaders over at MSNBC were complaining. "Where was the How in this speech?" demanded Keith Olbermann. Seriously.

Everyone's assumed that fixing the leak was a given since Day Four, which was still five days before the Democrat got his big plane and presidential entourage down there.

Local gulf coast officials are tearing out their hair trying to comprehend and comply with seventeen (as in seven more than 10) federal agencies falling all over themselves to do The Boss’ bidding and help and impose and superimpose their visions and regulations on what is a war zone with hundreds of ships and some 30,000 people involved, many of them frightened. And all of them inexperienced on a disaster of this scale.

Trust me, the president said, tomorrow I'm going to give those BP execs what-for. As CBS' Mark Knoller noted on his Twitter account, the president has allotted exactly 20 whole minutes this morning -- 1,200 fleeting seconds -- to his first-ever conversation with the corporation responsible for the disaster.

Then, he's got an important lunch with Joe "I Witnessed the World Cup's First Tie" Biden.

Well, just-believe-in-my-change-to-believe-in may have been good enough to win Obama's party primaries and the general election in 2008 and drag along into office enormous congressional majorities of fellow party travelers.

But after yelling "JOBS!" for a year and getting a protracted Democratic intra-party fight over Obama's beloved healthcare instead, Americans wanted some Oval Office specifics Tuesday evening on stopping the uncontrolled undersea oil escape.

Instead, Obama was like a Harvard-trained nurse talking vacation to a new patient bleeding all over the ER floor. Hello, could we please stop the blood flow here before we discuss the long-term recovery?

Obama’s delivery did not really come alive until the end when the ex-community organizer got into his favorite Big Picture stuff. Memo to American Homeowners: Do not call Obama over to fix your leaking roof – or pipe. Have him design a new house, no, better yet an entire neighborhood or city from scratch.

Following the advice of his chief of staff, Rahm "I Got a Rent-Free Apartment from a BP Adviser" Emanuel, Obama is determined to leave no crisis unused. When he got into the decades-long fossil fuel addiction rehab stuff, his eyes shone. His delivery punched up.

Now, that is an issue that requires greatness. Another galactic reform out of Hyde Park. It sounds swell unless mega-trillion-dollar federal deficits are on your mind, which voter polls now show ranks with terrorism as Americans' top fears.

Obama’s historic presidential campaign was not only big in terms of an unprecedented three-quarters of a billion dollars to win. It was about Big Promises. He was going to change America, radically reform the entire education system, healthcare, comb the entire federal budget line-by-line, oh, and change the 200-year-old partisan ways of the capitol. About the only big change the White Sox fan didn't promise was getting the Cubs a World Series ring.

It was all impractical, of course. But the country wanted to believe....

....in his change to believe in. And it did, handing complete control of the federal government over to Obama and his Democratic party. And today, after 17 months of lop-sided Democratic majorities now nervously confronting midterm elections Nov. 2, about 60% of Americans would like the new healthcare bill repealed. And they're hinting they'd probably like some more Republicans in Congress too.

President Obama has said he doesn’t sense an appetite to address something as large as the illegal immigrant issue this year. But suddenly – watch the left hand over here because he wants you to not focus on how long it’s taken him to take charge of the spill – he thinks there’s a compelling need to spend a motorcade full of moola that the federal government doesn’t have in order to change the country’s energy habits.

And we've gotta start that right now because of an underwater leaking pipe 40 miles off Louisiana that we haven't plugged and don't really understand how it broke in the first place. So let's do the electric car thing and build more windmills now.

And if, by chance, the nation’s politicians end up fighting over an energy plan during the next five months until the voting, maybe the politically damaging healthcare regrets and hidden costs will drown in all the words like so many thousands of seabirds in all the gulf’s still-surging oil.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Joe Raedle / Getty Images; Rod Lamkey / AFP / Getty Images; Getty Images (pool).

Comments

[A teachable moment]

What hell did he just say ,he is a babling idiot

[Sherry Snyder]

Good job, Mr. Malcolm! I didn't know the LA Times had it in them to be honest about our current president. For once, their nose is not stuck up Obama's rear end.

[FreemonSandlewould]

We're in a depression.

We'll know when we are going to exit it when the people jump for joy when we hit a gusher of an oil well.

For now the populace acts like a battered neurotic with no will of its own. Crying when it should be ecstatic.

Restart the drilling and let's tap this huge oil field that is down in the gulf.

......for if we eliminate our oil imports we eliminate most of our trade deficit. I don't need to tell you what that would do for our economy!

[Cassandra251]

Response to Tom Degan: It's NOT too early to judge the Obama presidency. It is an unmitigated disaster in terms of our national economy, security and stability. What you saw last night is what you voted for...blindly, unquestioningly, perhaps. After all, it gave you a certain air or "coolness" or "hipness" or chic-ness" at cocktail parties to be able to say you supported Obama, didn't it? And didn't it prove that you were oh so open-minded, multicultural and NOT racist? It all looked good on paper, but in the real world the best you get from BIG, ALL-POWERFUL GOVERNMENT is gridlock. The worst you get is the old Soviet Union. By the way, good luck getting health care in the future, Tom.

[Robert Hahn]

I agree that it's too early to judge Obama's Administration. He's only been in office for a year-and-a-half. We need to wait until every marine animal and bird in the Gulf region is dead or covered in gooey slop before finally admitting that the guy is a silver-tongued empty suit, and that we have 2-1/2 more years of mellifluous incompetence to endure as our punishment for not being willing to admit what we knew in our hearts to be true: that our news organizations were full of pro-Democrat liars who were selling this guy like a ShamWow.

[PeteyKay]

President Obama had zero executive experience when elected to the biggest management job in the world. What did you expect? There is a reason Senators are rarely elected President.

[PeteDawg]

Tom Degan, it's too early to judge the President? Really??? What alternate reality are you living in? How's that trillion dollar black hole he flushed with money we don't have? As far as FASCISM Palin wouldn't have continued to pump money to Wall St, buy GM & Chrysler, take over student loans and take over a sixth of the economy, please look up what fascism means. President Obama has NO EXECUTIVE EPERIENCE and it shows!!!

[Steve]

Tom:
He has no courage, only political hubris. Why cap the well when you can use if for political gain. It was quite a naive gesture to vote for him now, don't you think?

[Laconic_Conservative]

Ah! So the west coast liberal / progressives are just starting to wake up to the fact that we have a "Animatronic" Disney-type character, acting as POTUS, that cannot speak, think nor express himself without having the scripted words streaming across a screen in front of him.
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Wwithout the aid of a script he sounds like Bill Cosby's boyhood character, "Mush-Mouth" or Ralph Kramden caught in a lie by his wife, Alice. (er, uh, Humina-Humina-Humina)
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Once again, POTUS came on TV to vote "PRESENT". He continually demonstrates that he cannot, and has no true interest in assuming command, control, demonstrate leadership. His lame attempt at trying to assert himself made him look like a caricature of the wimpy kid trying to assert himself in the presense of grown-ups.
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As usual, POTUS made huge promises. A lot was said about what what will be done. However, when all is said and done, we will see how much was said compared to how much will have actually been done. No matter 1yr, 5yrs, 10yrs from now.
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Your annointed one, however, did not hesitate to announce the addition of another tax onto the back of the citizens of the U.S. under the guise of environmentalism & energy. POTUS agenda is more about political advantage instead of leading and caring for the people of this great nation.
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Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto was quoted as ruefully saying, "I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant."
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Settle yourself now, though, because I pray with God's help, you have only begun to hear the rumblings of the re-awakened giant where some elections and primaries have already occurred in places such as MA, NJ, VA, UT, FL, WV, SC, AR, and CA!
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Be forewarned! Beware of the re-awakened giant as he sweeps out the liberal / progressive agenda in NOV '10!

(AM responds: Thanks for checking us out. You need to visit The Ticket more often if you think the discovery process is just beginning. Thanks again.)

[Alvin Quigley]

Why should anyone be surprised that Obama is completely imcompetant and unfit for the job? America is finally waking up from its dream. We dreamt that a man whose main achievement was skillfully climbing the affimative action ladder could actually tackle problems, unite the country and become the leader of the free world.

[Ejeff]

This is it folks! Nothing new from thr Community Organizer in Chief. He has never been an executive anything. Remember, those who didn't fall for his retoric and didn't vote for him had genuine concerns about the man's inexperience. Unfortunately for all of us, we elected a complete novice and idealogue to manage the largest economy and most complex system in the history of the world. He only knows how to cast blame, demonize, threaten, strong arm, encourage protests, manipulate the middle class, and lawyer up- these are community organizing tactics. He might as well recommend for people to go fart in the lobby of BP headquarters as a way to solve the oil spill, as was recommended in Alinsky's book.

[sorebird]

Republicans, are letting every crises go to waste. No is a good answer to Obamatopia, but no it isn't a solution.
Republicans need to replace cap and tax, with a solution, for today.

Cut taxes on infrastructure and Build Baby Build, with already proven reality-tech, not more government "investment" in Obamatopia future-tech. We need jobs, national security and a cleaner environment today, why are we waiting for Obamatopia?

Cut taxes 100% on all forms of alternative energy, infrastructure, equipment and power. Cut utility regulation of the sales of power from alternative sources. Encourage the use of natural gas for; Integrated heating cooling and power (ICHP) and for use in hybrid, trucks and buses. ICHP technology has been up and running for years already. ICHP is extremely reliable and proven. NG and ICHP are not a total solution, nothing is, but while we await the next big government "investment" winner" and Obamatopia, shouldn't we be building with our already proven reality based solutions? Cut taxes on all forms of alternative energy and Build Baby Build.

[Flossie22]

Black Ken as opposed to white Barbie, with all of his work done! Not even an in basket on the desk. Maybe he has his in basket on his golf cart or in the main ball room of the White House!
If he would have given the first part of this speech on day one, it would have been more believable.
Since the beans have been spilled and we all know about Rahm's "Don't let a crisis go to waste!" we were all expecting and were't disappointed to hear the second half of his speech about Green Crap and Trade! Thirty years of money going to renewable energy and still it isn't self supporting.
NOVEMBER is coming and not too soon!

[Al Schroedel]

Tom,

Know it must be very difficult to come to terms with the reality of Obama,
especially having voted for him. But hopefully you'll accept the truth that currently 58% of Americans already have.

[urstrange]

In the photograph Crist is looking for evidence of oil about as diligently as Barack Petroleum is working on a "fix". They are both "tar babies" and as Uncle Remus said, "The Tar Baby he don't say nothin'."

[Tired and Fed-Up]

Same tired "Blah blah blah" and "Woof-woof" that Obama has been regurgitating for 2+ years now. Ditch the agenda-ized "input" of your trusted "advisors", get rid of the teleprompter and talk person-to-person to the American people. How much longer until he figures this out?

[JfromFL]

Best-Photo-Ever of Charlie Crist – the caption is even better.
At least someone at the LA Times has a sense of humor.

[higgins1990]

Joe "I Witnessed the World Cup's First Tie" Biden.

Rahm "I Got a Rent-Free Apartment from a BP Adviser" Emanuel.

Barrack "I have no leadership experience" Obama.

[James]

Lol Anyone else notice it looks like Charlie Crist is checking more than just the beach?

[Dan]

I think Obama should hold another big party in one of those huge and luxurious white tents out on the lawn of the White House and serve a couple more tons of Kobe Beef (only $180.00 per pound) that he likes so much, while the rest of us eat spamburger helper. Some one might belch up an idea that would be better than anything that Obama has done so far.

Heck, that would do as good as another one of his mind numbing speeches.
Don't forget, he's got a fellow Nobel Prize Winner in his Cabinet, whose equally as worthless as he is.

[Chris]

I can't wait for the new windmill or solar powered cars to come out so I can stop buying gasoline. So it really won't hurt our economy if gas goes to $5 a gallon. These new windmill cars are due out anyday now.

Besides we are all so full of cash that the "skyrocketing" cost of energy doesn't matter to anybody. Especially to all of us fully employed citizens that are months ahead on our mortgages.

[Justin]

Obama = FAIL! The only oil Gov. Charlie Crist (RINO) is checking out is the suntan oil.

[walter12]

My God, it is getting really bad out there. This Obama is simply delusional. He is either out of his mind or pure evil. I was there during the Vietnam War and this man is the worst thing to happen to this nation since the Vietnam War. He is a trainwreck, a disaster for the country.

This nation needs to get down on its knees and pray for deliverence from Obama and his minions in Congress. It could take 20 years to rectify the damage this man is doing.

[Jim Scott]

I wonder what kind of oil governor Crist is lookin' for? From the picture, I'd say it was the SPF 30 kind.

[viking51855]

I can't believe the L.A. Times is siding with the majority of the people in the US that know this man in the office isan empty suit. The only thing that will save his presidency would be for him to put on scuba gear, go down to the broken pipe line and stick a cork in it.

[Michael Collins]

Is Crist really checking for oil? I want that job!

[Kim]

It is a fact that the president gets hounded from the right. That is the job. Republican presidents get hounded from the left. That is the job. Don't complain because the whole world is not made of Democrats. Don't be silly.

Democrats have the votes to do ANYTHING you want. It doesn't matter what we say. You own these two years.

The next two we will share because too many people are out of work. The Dems will lose the senate and probably the house. In the words of Bill Clinton, "It's the economy...."

He promised to lower the sea level...I think he over promised. This thing is not his fault. Yelling YOU ARE GOING TO PAY PAY PAY does not foster a cliamate of open communications. It does not lead to creative soulutions.

[Politically Incorrect]

Empty speech, empty suit, the man is clueless........

[ChinaLake]

Andrew, as is your habit, you nailed it. Know it's not easy being the voice of reason in the LAT. I've only indulged it in following the Bruins and Lakers in recent years-- where even there the coverage seems sometimes disconnected from reality. As an infrequent poster on the Lakers blog (but a frequent visitor), it's good to see a blog that at least gives voice to another point of view politically. It also makes me smile when posters at HotAir and Lucianne cannot believe that such radical views as you espouse are published in LaLaLand.

Keep up the good work! It's appreciated.

[Rod Johnson]

I don't think Gov. Crist is looking for oil in that pic.

[Change please]

Folks, I really didn't want either McCain or Obama. One was a career politician who had no vision and the other had tons of vision and a career academic with no ability to execute leadership. Nice choice.
Give up on this guy. Quit defending him. Last night was the most defeated, vapid, pointless, smooth babble since Greenspan pontificated in front of Congress about how you can't predict bubbles. Really?
Obama is W 2.0. I dislike them both.
We need a real energy plan, a real sustainable environment plan, a real healthcare plan - and guess what - Big oil, Big green, and Big pharma are not invited to the discussion. The system is horribly flawed and Nothing will change until the system changes.

[mhkp]

Dang! This from the LA Times? Calling MSNBC 'cheerleaders' and asking for action instead of rhetoric from the One?

I am impressed by the Editorial Staff and Mr. Malcom!

[Mark P]

I love the comment in the first picture that says, "Gov. Charlie Crist checks a Florida beach for signs of oil"

It looks like he's checking out more than oil to me. :-)

[Jamison]

i dont care if they pay, when they pay, or how much.... WE ARE DYING DOWN HERE! STOP THE LEAK!!!

[Glenn / CA]

You won't find any oil there, Charlie!!!!

[Adam]

Bravo LA Times. I do like the article not to mention the picture of Gov Crist walking the beaches. I'm sure that was the best one of the bunch. Anyhow, President Obama is using his experience of being a "community organizer" to "organize" more federal agencies down to the coast. So now that they are getting organized, now what? Time for the leadership peace.....I believe the President is lacing experience in this arena and it has definitely shown throughout the entire term so far. The American people don't want a socialite in the White House, they want a leader, a president. The taxpayers don't pay you to go to parties with celebs and be "Mr Cool" they pay you to run the country, to lead the country. Hopefully this spill gets fixed soon and their isn't another disaster in the making as who knows how that will be handled.

[Jon]

Obama has no plan, that much is obvious. He is utterly clueless as to how to proceed. Meanwhile, out here in the middle the masses seethe and talk of secession, once unthinkable, continues to gain momentum. We now know without a doubt that if we dare secede, it will be two weeks before he gets the memo, a month and a half before he threatens to "kick our ass" and, well we don't actually know how long it will take for him to DO something about it. Mr. President, you have no clothes. You embarrass me.

[Jonathan]

Memo to Mr. Degan : I guess it's really difficult to admit that your guy Obama was and still is a fraud. He's never had one bit of executive experience leading ANYTHING and yet Americans are supposed to expect him to suddenly rise to the occasion? Please.

Obama is a political hustler who has zero interest in or ability to lead the United States. Everything he touches is a disaster. Too early to judge his admistration? Are you serious? How much worse do you need things to get before you decide that it's ok to judge him as the joke that he is?

"Let's face some serious facts here..." At least with John McCain there's never a doubt as to where his loyalties lie - with the USA. Obama clearly HATES the country he's supposed to be leading. Where is FEMA? Why hasn't he declared a state of emergency all across the Gulf genius? The reason is that he doesn't care. Wake up. Show some courage yourself by admitting to yourself that Obama is an incompetent elitist fool. But you sound like you'd fit right in with him and all of the Democrat ilk.

[FedUp]

Zero is a train wreck. I did not vote for him because he does not have the experience or track record to be the leader of the free world. He is proving my thesis every day! God help this wonderful country.

[jack98]

its about time some of you see the real Obama. A lot of talk but nothing underneath. Its about time some of you see what he is or NOT capable) of.

[Jenny Bea]

I love the picture and the caption with Crist. He's checking the beach for oil... as in tanning oil? That man wasn't looking at sand! Who took this picture? (It's funny- I don't mean to sound negative, but he was OBVIOUSLY not looking at the sand, and it's funny that someone snapped this photo at that exact moment Crist's eyes went from the oil in the sand to the oil all over that woman's legs! LOLOL)

Other than that- Obama's an idiot. I think everyone gets that, now.

[Michael Kennedy]

I would be relatively happy with Bill Clinton in there. As long as you kept the interns away from him, he did a fairly competent job for a Democrat. This is a disaster, and I don't mean the leak.

[Diane]

As an ER nurse, I find your comparison of Obama's utter incompetence and lack of leadership in this disaster to what educated and competent ER nurses do on a daily basis to be insulting at the very least. The vast majority of nurses and other health care professionals I know provide valuable, results-oriented service on a daily basis. Obama has never been responsible or accountable for producing results in any of his life's endeavors--why would we expect different now?

[Lee]

How sad it is that now American's will be made to pay for the oil spill.

[steve miller]

You hesitate to criticize the President? How old is he? Seven?

He's the freakin' President of the United States. If he can't handle criticism from some unknown lowly citizen, how is he capable of standing up to our global opponents (who appear to be Britain and Israel and not Iran and North Korea)?

If you honestly think the President is doing a lousy job on an issue you find important, why the heck don't you complain? There is nothing wrong with that, and if you - the person who supposedly is served by your political representatives - can't find it in you to criticize, then move to England and become a subject, not a citizen.

(AM responds: Get someone to actually read you this item before you say these silly things.)

[steve husein]

never mind the story. the picture and the headline say everything we can handle for the time being. crist looking for oil? hahaha. where did you get this? i want to be upset because there can be no denying the seriousness of the issue but that picture! that picture! you guys are right there in hollywood so maybe there's somthing going on that you're not telling us. but the ingenious juxtaposition of that headline about windmills and the picture. OMG. LOL. it's pure comic relief. did you plan it that way? i know i'm not the only one feeling this way. as a conservative i am usually ultra skeptical of you guys and your presentation of the news. but this is gold. i see real genius in this. the factors are so loosely connected and melded together in a perfect union of shock-disbelief-hopelessness-politcal correctness-(dare I say) sex-and the jesters perspective on it all, melded together in a smooth tableu of grace that sinks in a way that transcends politics and forces you to laugh. you almost dont care what the story is about. you just want to think about the motives of the editors of this page because they have created real time art here. it would be funny as a fatkidinaturnstile (to quote greg gutfeld) if this was unintentional but it would be even funnier i think if it was. it would be genius then. anyway i didn't read he story but latimes i got a hand it to you. i feel disarmed at this moment.

[Red Ruffansore]

You elected this knob head you thick skulled left coast elitist morons, now enjoy the whirlwind of destruction this clueless idiot will bring to the world in a way that only the largest government/economy could do. Your state is bankrupt and soon you'll be done for and the domino effect your stupidity will have on the rest of the country ensures you will get NOTHING from the rest of us because you'll drag us down with you.

[Jim]

Fascist Barbie?

Fascism is happening under your freaking nose under Obama (GM now means Government Motors and financial reforms look to wrest banking from the private sector and move it more and more to the public - now we have talk of the same kind of intrusive thrusts under the GUISE of an energy policy) and you are letting partisanship and thoughtless name calling blind you to that fact.

Do you even know what fascism is?

[RM Edaps]

Another example of clueless, empty-suit Hussein Obama doing the only things he has done since he finally recognized the spill was a problem: meaningless rhetoric, blame, threaten.........but no real effort to protect the coast and the folks.

[wuberman]

Nope...no oil on that rear end , better keep checking.