Gulf Oil Spill Does Not Equal Katrina

For over a month now, oil has been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico. It has quickly become the worse ecological disaster ever; surpassing the Exxon spill 30 years by then some. Each night we see daily coverage. We see the pictures of wildlife being affected by the oil. We see the marches being polluted by a viscus liquid. We know about the local fishermen and businesses that have become handicapped by this spill. And the worse thing about it is President Obama is fairly limited in what he can do to stop the problem.

BP has taken the brunt of the blame; as they should. But the government is still partially at fault and they have taken their hits as well. But it is ultimately up to the experts; the companies that have put us in the predicament we are in now to solve the problem. There are no devices in a secret location in Texas that they can fly over to cap the oil leak. Damage has been done. Since the first day until now thousands of barrels of oil have been leaked into the Gulf. Even the greatest minds that have been assembled have continued to be left without a suitable answer to the stop this leak.

However, despite all those efforts by the administration and Interior Department and MMS and others to try to resolve this issue; critics have arisen. Republicans and opponents of the president have been quick to compare the Gulf Oil Spill to Hurricane Katrina. They are calling the spill "Obama's Katrina".

Other than the location along the Louisiana coast, there are no other similarities. Hurricane Katrina was a horrible natural disaster that was worsened by the government's poor response and organization. This spill is purely a disaster that is nearly impossible of the same time of government response. A city and state's people were affected in the former compared to the Gulf and the animals, wildlife, and environment in the latter.

President Obama has been pressured by the media, political officials, and common men and women to come up with an action that is virtually impossible. He came into office looking to be able to solve problems whether they were inherited or occurred under his watch. He has communicated with officials and hoped that those who need to be doing the work down in the Gulf are addressing it accordingly. He has been vocal about ensuring that BP pays for their irresponsible actions that caused this mess to begin with. Obama has had to deal with members of the right who think he is being too harsh or overstepping his bounds regarding forcing BP to pay.

America has become a yesterday culture over time. The problem should have been fixed yesterday is how some think. The fact that the spill continues has many unsure of the affects and when it will end. The communities down there and along the Gulf worry how this will affect them now and down the road. The public have seen resolutions to problems throughout time and expect much of the same here in a similar fashion. The fact that Obama does not seem angry or his lack of emotion sets some off. If he doesn't seem to be going crazy then he is not properly addressing the issue with a passion.

This spill comes at a time when the public is generally suspicious and uncertain of their trust for the government. They want to know that the government is on top of this. They want to know that the spill is getting the proper attention. The president continues to listen and talk with advisers and experts. There are several others who are waiting on the sideline for a call to action instead of taking the initiative to step up.

However, it all goes back to BP. They are the ones largely responsible for this problem. They are the ones who should largely be on top of his issue and coming up with solutions. They are the ones who should have connections, experts, and anything in between to attack this problem from every angle. They are the ones who have the most to lose from this. You would think they would want to solve this problem as soon as possible and put it behind them.

President Obama should keep on BP. That is ultimately what he can do. He has learned at times during his first year and a half that he cannot do everything. There are some things out of his control. This is truly one of them. People need to stop expecting the president to be able to do everything. He might have run on that perception, but it is unrealistic to think that. As long as BP, the experts, and anyone else who can be of use are down in the Gulf trying to stop the spill from continuing; then Obama is doing his job.

Unlike Katrina when Bush failed to implement the necessary response, Obama could only do so much here and they are two majorly different issues. Thus the comparisons are ignorant and petty by anyone who says it.