Plug the Damn Holes

This country has two holes to plug, not one. One is in the Gulf, the other in the White House.

President Obama has no more responsibility for the occurrence of the British Petroleum environmental disaster than President Bush had for the arrival of Katrina. Despite all the political hoopla, Obama cannot be expected to “plug the damn hole.”

Regardless, the President has a political disaster on his hands. It is one that he has made worse. Susan Duclos, in a piece entitled Obama Not Responsible For The Oil Spill But Fully Responsible For His Response, captures the problem in the title of her article. She states:

… there was absolutely nothing [Obama] could have done to prevent it. Every time I hear people criticize Obama for a perceived “lack of “anger,” I can’t help but laugh at their lack of understanding: Putting on a show isn’t going to help solve the problem. No, actually being where the trouble is, working with state officials and making sure they have what they need to help minimize the damage, would accomplish much more. At the very least, it would go a long way toward making people believe he is doing his job.

There are two tragedies here. One, obviously, is the environmental damage done by the oil spill. The other, arguably more important, is the further disrobing of our anointed (at least in his own mind) emperor. Despite what he might believe, it appears that all Obama has left in the mind of much of the public are his skivvies, and they are looking awfully tattered.

While the majority of the public may be incapable of understanding complex subjects, that does not prevent them from taking positions on such issues. Few of us, perhaps many scientists included, truly understand the implications of the data surrounding the climate issue. Yet that has not prevented us from choosing a side. Other complex issues are foreign policy, economic, legal and social issues.

Opinions on complex issues are determined by pre-dispositions. Hence, if one supported Obama initially, one would likely be sympathetic to his handling of such issues. The disaster in the Gulf, however, is quite different.

Pictures of birds dying or dead, covered in oil, are shown everywhere. Helpless wildlife resonates with voters regardless of politics. Seeing photos for weeks and weeks, especially when they are getting more plentiful and gruesome, only makes matters worse for the President. The contrast between these pictures and Obama’s assurances are especially telling.

What is so annoying about the British Petroleum episode, aside from the environmental damage, is Obama’s continuing hapless charade. First, he was aloof, virtually ignoring the incident. Then he was in charge, doing his best Al Haig (“I am in charge”) impersonation, acting as if he were capable of solving the problem. That was followed by the stage where Obama tried to lead us to believe that he was in charge of BP, a foreign-based corporation. Did anyone really believe that BP, a foreign-headquartered company, was under Obama’s control? Does anyone believe Obama would be capable of running a gas station, no less a major oil company?

Finally, Obama became outraged when it became apparent that nature refused to bend to his or BP’s will. He was seemingly the last to know that the oil was not going to part for him. The problem then became all BP’s. Now Obama plans to punish BP severely and make all injured parties whole (ala “healing the sick” or “healing the earth”).

In the latest attempt to deflect criticism from Obama’s performance, the Administration theme is that Obama was “on this [the oil spill] from Day One.” As they say down in the Gulf, “That dog won’t hunt.” This video, Obama’s Gulf Oil Spill Video), is an unkind spoof of his strategy.

Obama’s performance, throughout this painful episode, is reminiscent of the goose that watches which way the flock is going and then flies out in front pretending to be the leader. Unfortunately for Obama, the flock chose to change directions several times.

We are almost two months into this tragedy with no end in sight. Only the true Obama has been revealed. He entered office conveying the image that he was capable of walking on water. It is now clear that he cannot, nor can he walk on oil or prevent it from spilling into the ocean.

The assumed mantel of competence that protected Obama had been cracked by inept and ineffective economic and foreign policy decisions. Now it has been shattered. The assumption of intelligence, so readily granted in the beginning, is under assault as the litany of unsolved problems continues to grow. Teleprompter malfunctions revealed him to be perhaps less literate than George Bush. All but the double Kool-Aid drinkers realize that we are watching the political equivalent of The Wizard of Oz with BP in the Toto role, pulling back Obama’s curtain.

The main tragedy is the continued unraveling of our President. His claim and pretension of competence and intelligence stand in sharp contrast to his being overwhelmed by events, whether they are related to foreign policy, the economy or this Gulf tragedy.

Rick Moran described Obama and his situation thusly:

Urging Obama to take action is like asking a high school kid to build a rocket to the moon. The president can’t take action because he doesn’t know what to do except treat these real world problems as a campaign issue and not something requiring executive decision making.

Obama’s airs and pretensions contrast sharply with his ability. Like an old-time mountebank, he knows no shame or other way. His life has been little more than a Hollywood façade. He deliberately designed himself to be a charismatic Rorschach inkblot that others could interpret in whatever ways they deemed favorable.

Every prior position that Obama held (adjunct lecturer, community organizer and Senator) required no real accountability, responsibility or executive skill. Unfortunately, he surrounded himself with similar individuals.

Obama did not have the common sense to meet with his counterpart (possibly because he believes he has no counterpart), the Chairman of BP. It took 58 days for such a meeting to occur. Does he understand the concept of chain of command or accountability? Harry Truman’s “The buck stops here” is an alien concept. Peter Drucker’s relevance appears to be only as a rhyme with a foul word.

Not only are we dealing with an “empty suit,” we are dealing with an “empty man.” “There is no ‘there,’ there.” We have an intellectual fop holding the most powerful position in the world.

When Obama returns to the Gulf for his photo-ops, all that he accomplishes is a doubling of the goofs in the Gulf. The first one was caused by BP.  The other by the return of a delusional narcissist who believed he was The One the World Was Waiting For.

This country has two holes to plug. The one in the Gulf pales in importance to the one in the White House.