Some Politically Pertinent Questions About the Oil Spill

It’s telling that most of your questions revolve around political gamesmanship (will the Republicans benefit from this? Is this GOOD NEWS!! for Bobby Jindal?) rather than the far more pertinent questions of actual policy.

Here are the questions I’m interested in: what sort of regulatory overhaul is necessary to prevent this sort of thing from happening again? Should we even be considering allowing further offshore drilling in the wake of this disaster? Does this provide further impetus to explore alternative energy methods? What will be the total environmental impact of this spill, and how will BP and the government work to mitigate the damage?

Short term part 3: I wonder if the quick ending of the spill could equally support claims that Obama wasn’t doing enough fast enough. After all, not 3 days after he started heaping responsibility onto his shoulders, the oil was stopped…
.
Long term part 3: Highly doubt it. I think we’ll see it more going into 2012. Besides which, how many Democrats do you think could take the Republicans attacks and then find equal footage of Republicans screaming “Drill, baby, drill”?
.
Overall, I don’t see this having a significant impact on 2010 – the Democrats are scarred with Obama’s mistakes, the Republicans are scarred with their cozy relationship with oil and their Drill, Baby, Drill. It’s a huge wash all around. More than anything, its implications on 2012 are far more intriguing – both on its weakening of Obama’s fortunes and strengthening of Jindals.
.
Even more important: if Democrats are smart, however (I’m not holding my breath), they’ll get out there and use this example to try and end the Reagan era. In fact, they should spend the entirety of now until 2012 saying “Companies can’t be trusted to regulate themselves. Government oversight is necessary. We, the public, need to ensure that our government regulators are strong, competent, and working to protect us from the oversights and cut corners of greed. The Great Recession was caused by a weakening of our great institutions, the permitting of more and more lax behavior, and greed escalated while corners were cut and businesses brought down the economy. The Great Spill was caused by a weakening of our great institutions, the permitting of more and more lax behavior, and greed escalated while corners were cut and businesses destroyed the sea.”
.
They should HAMMER this point again and again and again and again and maybe, just maybe, Reagan can finally be buried.

Kate, thanks for this post; I asked yesterday if you would write a deeper analysis. More unanswerable questions for the crickets:
.
1. I posted this in “1000 words” as levity but seriously, is anyone pondering the chance / aftermath of hurricanes literally blowing the spill onto coastal towns?
.
2. I asked lovely Jay earlier (but no answer) about long-term energy plans changed by this: if offshore drilling is cut back, does on-shore drilling increase, more biofuels, or (alas) importing; does this accelerate non-oil energy sources? Now it’s YOUR turn for the q.’s. What have you heard / your thoughts?
.
3. If Jindal’s asking for more Federal help, how can he look good with R’s who want less govt.?
.
4. What are you thoughts / tea leaves on fallout in 2012? All Gulf states are clearly Red except for Florida, so I think Obama’s likely to lose them anyway but FL is critical.
.
5. BP’s going to civil court, no doubt. But what are YOU hearing about criminal investigations?
.
I’m done. Thanks for your thoughts, Kate (and sorry to see your friend Barbara Kiviat took a beating from RW ‘commenter’ kattest yesterday.) Have a good weekend. Enjoy the weather and the beach.

ST1: Not right away. Profoundly.
ST2: What do YOU think?
ST3: He’ll rebound as soon as it’s plugged.

LT1: No. Yes.
LT2: Yes. Not this year.
LT3: Of COURSE they will. Diarrhea of the Mouth will only help make their case.
LT4: If disaster didn’t help the prior governor, it won’t help him either.

Kate,

I think you missed a very important item that should be included in both your short term and long term lists.

Congressional Democrats are trying to raise or eliminate the cap on liability costs for oil companies drilling off the coast. This effort applies to all oil companies, but it directly affects BP and BPs liability for this accident. The gop is blocking this. Don’t you have to mention this if you are going to discuss gop efforts to benefit politically from the disaster? Also, shouldn’t this be mentioned as part of your ‘Restitution’ item since it is directly on point?

Speaking of the politics of the oil spill, one of the more bizarre aspects is that so many of the in-crowd Beltway Heathers in the media — like Chip Reid of CBS — refuse to place any of the blame for MMS incompetence at the feet of the people who destroyed it: the Bush administration.
.
There’s a great guest post by Kate Sheppard on this very issue over at the WaPo:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/05/the_curse_of_bush.html

You’ve got questions. I’ve got answers:

In the short term:

1. Optics: Will images of Obama touring the Gulf (in tomorrow’s newspapers and on the evening news) affect the way the public views his response to the disaster? No. If and when oil starts washing ashore at a faster rate, how will images of dead wildlife and oil-soaked beaches affect the public perception of the disaster and the federal response? It will affect the public perception negatively. Remember these pictures?Yes.

2. The blame game: Will Republicans gain a stronger political foothold with the notion that local efforts to stop the spread of the oil were hampered by federal officials? No.

3. Ending the crisis: What will be the final political fallout for Obama if the leak is definitively stopped over the weekend?The “enthusiasm gap” between the Democrats and the GOP will be solidified over the next 2 years.

In the long term:

1. Restitution: Will the businesses, fisherman and residents harmed by the oil spill be fairly compensated by BP? No. Will the federal government monitor the process to ensure it’s just?No.

2. Drill, maybe, drill?: Obama, after endorsement an expansion of offshore drilling several months ago, has already called for more reviews and license delays in the wake of the BP spill. Will offshore drilling be further affected? Not substantially. Drilling will continue apace. Will backers of the cap and trade bill be able to use the disaster to push through the legislation this year? It depends on what you mean by backers. Environmental backers of the legislation will not be successful in pushing for a stronger bill. Wall Street firms (e.g. Goldman Sachs) that are poised to profit mightily from pollution credit trading fees will cynically use the disaster to push for a Wall-Street friendly bill.

3. Optics, part deux: Will Republicans use footage of the disaster and Obama in campaign ads this fall? Yes, but it will mostly be successful in Red States to fire up the base. The NRSC already used these images – along with Democratic James Carville’s emotional plea to Obama – in a web video.

4. Jindal: Will this crisis put Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal back in the conversation about GOP candidates for 2012? No. He was a rising national star in the Republican Party at one time; could this be his rebirth? Not unless drinking oil-befouled water causes one to grow 4 inches in height, add 25 pounds of muscle, and drop an octave in vocal tone.

To your #1: Oh heck yes. One strong enough will churn the deepwater where most of the oil still is, coat the coastline and blow it a couple hundred miles inland. There go lives, houses, buildings, property, and more wildlife. On the positive side, it’ll help clean the Gulf out…in an extreme kind of way.

How about lengthening his staccato delivery?

Working on his Kenneth the Page inflection?

Actually, that doesn’t make sense. The vast majority of crap that gets blown around for long distances is….well….the water in the clouds that need to be absorbed out of the water. If Crude has a vaporization temperature below water (which I doubt because I think we’d have seen this sort of issue before, but I could be very wrong on that), then there might be a problem, but otherwise it wouldn’t be in the clouds. Even if it is in the clouds, I’m not convinced that the effect would be significantly worse than acid rain – not that this is a negligible effect, but still.
.
Obviously, Crude might fly shorter distances in the Hurricanes or be washed up further along the shore from the waves or cause even greater damage to the gulf sea life as it gets mixed around or get spread further than it otherwise would have, but I wouldn’t expect the impact to be notable very far inland.

Great point. And if it blows inland, I wonder if liability caps BP has argued over still apply.

Companies can’t be trusted to regulate themselves. Government oversight is necessary
==

And as proof of this they can cite: MMS and the Safety Award Obama gave BP, SEC’s 6 audits of Bernie Madoff without so much as a reprimand, Failure of one of the most regulated industries – banking, Fannie & Freddie a government sponsored entity needing $86+ billion in taxpayer funds after 2 ex-Clintonista cook the books, the Post Office with its failures, IRS and its thousands of employees not paying taxes. and th elist could go on.

Oh but wait you were arguing for the government to do more of this– good thinking.

I know that this is a ‘political’ blog but this is effing stupid. Will the photo of Obama running his fingers through the sand have any bearing on whether the current strategy stops the leak? Will the amount of time Obama spends on the phone expressing his ‘concern’ have any bearing on whether the current strategy stops the leak?
.
Will we use this as an opportunity to look at the revolving door between government and business that allows safety reports to be ghost-written by the regulatees? Will the chop-licking by Republicans looking for an opportunity to blame the ‘government’ have any bearing on the price of shrimp and on the effect of another 10′s of thousands of displaced workers heading to Houson or Memphis looking for relief?
.
Will the press wake up and realize that they aren’t just part of the problem, they are pretty much the entire problem?
.
I didn’t think so……

“Great point” initially re: nfl’s comment but forgottenlord, that’s a really good question about how much oil evaporates vs. water. I was thinking about what’s still in the water physically getting blown onshore by the waves of a cat. 4 or 5 hurricane.

Obama Politicizes Oil Spil.
.
President Obama made the pledge to “Take the Politics out of Science and Restore Science to its Rightful Place”
.
He assembled a group of superstar scientist to figure out a ways to clean up the giant oil mess in the gulf. The Department of Energy selected five scientists who were considered the best of the best, of the Oil Spill Remediation Community.
.
This blue ribbon committee of experts had their first meeting 2 weeks ago in Huston. One week later one of the scientist was dropped from the committee. The administration had found out that Professor Jonathan Katz of Washington University had written articles stating his views against Affirmative Action and diversity. Professor Katz believes if we are to achieve the very best outcomes we must use the best people available and do the best job humanly possible. He is also anti gay.
.
While it would be understandable for the President to not want Dr.Katz as part of his ongoing administration, it would seem counter productive to drop Dr. Katz, a Physics Genius from this committee tasked with stopping and cleaning up the greatest environmental crisis we have ever had as a country.
.
What if his contribution could have made a major difference in this crisis? Should we lose his genus simply because we may disagree with his political views?
.
I don’t subscribe to Dr Katz’s anti gay beliefs, but I would not exclude him from this committee in the middle of an emergency of this level.

“And as proof of this they can cite: MMS and the Safety Award Obama gave BP, SEC’s 6 audits of Bernie Madoff without so much as a reprimand, Failure of one of the most regulated industries – banking, Fannie & Freddie a government sponsored entity needing $86+ billion in taxpayer funds after 2 ex-Clintonista cook the books, the Post Office with its failures, IRS and its thousands of employees not paying taxes. and th elist could go on.”
;
Oh but wait you were arguing for the government to do more of this– good thinking.
.
Yes Freeinpa. Everything you just posted above is what we want asked by the press, answered by the current administration and invesitgated by the Justice and Congress. None of this is gotcha stuff, but stuff the government needs to fix. And I would add torture, our rights, contractors in the war zone, corruption in the DoD and corruption in our civilian court systems.
.
They won’t be addressed if the press is more concerned with optics on every single issue and the issues that have no affect on the everyday lives of American, are bit@hing about how mean the administration is or sucking up to their latest love interrest in politics. I don’t care whom that happens to be.

Freep, I’ve never come close to agreeing with your comments in this blog. Until now.

I do not believe businesses can or should be left to their own devices.

But it’s abundantly clear that “government oversight” means there will certainly be something overlooked by the government (regulators).

Current regulatory measures are pathetic, and your example of the SEC’s “investigations” into Madoff is spot on. They were handed a criminal on a silver platter, and sent the dish back to the kitchen time and again.

Any thoughts on big-picture resolution to this ever evolving problem? We can’t leave businesses alone to regulate themselves, but the government has proven worthless time and again…What to do??

Companies can’t be trusted to regulate themselves. Government oversight is necessary.
.
Don’t forget minimal banking / trading oversight allowed banks, Wall St. traders, and AIG to swap derivatives among themselves with almost no restraint. …until the failed bets collapsed firms and caused the recession along with crappy mortgages (that set values for the swaps in the first place, but I digress).

Jindal benefits politically because his stupid remarks about volcano monitoring and states receiving Federal assistance look even stupider now? Well, it is the GOP, so probably.

Will Republicans gain a stronger political foothold with the notion that local efforts to stop the spread of the oil were hampered by federal officials?

Does it matter if the plan in question is a good one?

blog fail – my comment was not meant to be a reply to #6.

I agree with you, 3xfire3, assuming that you have your facts correct (this is the first that I have heard about Dr. Katz).
.
As you agree that people’s personal beliefs about gay rights should not stand in the way of using the most qualified experts on issues of national security, surely you also agree that kicking gay Arabic translators out of the military was an insanely bad idea?

It is all political posturing and I do not see either party gaining from it.
.
In the end neither Party will be liked by it’s supporters.
.
The real question is will the Republicans continue to overboard, and place more nut cases on the ballot?

Professor Katz is actually quite a piece of work. I’m thinking that his views on the efficacy of surfactants on the ocean as a way to mitigate hurricanes might have had more to do with his rejection than his rather pointed political beliefs.
.
http://wuphys.wustl.edu/~katz/
.
He has plenty of expertise. Just not in any particularly pertinent field.

Why does Obama say “the buck stops” with him? He can’t do jack to stop the leak, it’s all up to BP. And his predecessor gutted the regulatory agency in question. Obama’s only mistake was not moving more quickly to rebuild it and with a depression, two wars, and healthcare reform he had a busy year.

It actually turns me off that he claims any responsibility for this. It’s meaningless and it dilutes credibility when he claims responsibility for things that he *can* control.

We should judge the federal government on how they respond to the damage caused by the spill, not on how quickly BP solves an extremely difficult technological problem

Call me crazy, but I don’t see how a party that wants to do more offshore oil drilling will benefit from a disaster caused by offshore oil drilling. I really don’t see how a party that “believes in smaller government and less government regulation” will benefit from a problem that would best be solved by more government activity, including stronger regulations.

Good ole kevie, using the same tired mantra time, time and time again. Are you stuck in a vacuum, or what? Responsibility, little kevie. I know its a big word for you, but it is high time you learned its meaning. Blaming others (specifically, Bush) was the FIRST thing Obama tried and it went over like a lead balloon with the American people. HE learned the lesson, little kevie, now how about you? (wishful thinking, I’m sure)

Then clearly you haven’t been paying attention.
.
I was watching CNN in the bank line and their “Congressional Correspondent” when asked point blank whether Clinton’s offer to Sestak was legal, went at great length to explain that the White House said it was but that Congressman Issa insisted that it was a misdemeanor. At no point did it ever occur to them to check with someone familiar with the law without an axe to grind to get an actual answer to the question.
.
Truth has no bearing on any debate.

Good old earl, bringing nothing of substance to the discussion but name calling. Such a child.

Responsibility, little kevie. I know its a big word for you, but it is high time you learned its meaning.
.
The article I linked to was all about how the media refuses to place responsibility where it lies and makes a clear case that 90% of it belongs with Bush — but some does belong with Obama.
.
But of course, we all know that Bush isn’t responsible for anything. “No one could have predicted 9/11,” even though they did. “No one could have known Iraq didn’t really have WMDs,” even though plenty said so. “No one could have expected the levees to break,” even though people had been warning of it for days.
.
But with Obama, of course, he has to take responsibility for a private company that was repeatedly given no oversight by the Bush MMS and then kept Obama in the dark about the early extent of the spill.
.
Christ, you are pathetic.

re: earl, I’d bet a real medical doctor wouldn’t behave this way, however paranoid. Getting outed wouldn’t look good to the patients, let alone university admin. / boards. Especially if most universities are supposed to final redoubts of Firebrand Liberalism™. I thought corporatism / corporate politics / corporate media eliminated that.

He had a busy year? Are you sticking with that one?
.
Please. Nobody expects Obama to personally review drilling regulations. All he had to do following his inauguration was to give Salazar broad direction:
.

“Ken, the reports of regulatory capture are horrific. I want you to clean house, ideologically. People need to know that we are no longer buddy-buddy with the oil industry. We’re their regulators and sometimes partners. We aren’t their friends.
.
Personally I believe that oil development, even off-shore drilling, will be a key part of our energy policy going forward. But before we take a step in that direction, I need to be 100% confident that the system is as safe as possible. And if operations aren’t safe they need to be shut down. If they can’t be made safe they need to be cancelled.
.
You’re going to catch some heat. Don’t worry, Ken. I’ve got your back.

What does that take? One minute? Obama could have spent the rest of the past year on health care, financial reform, and wars. Last time I checked, the Dept. of Interior doesn’t have much to do with those issues.

Oh my, how pathetic is the notion that physicians cannot have a voice OR an opinion? I don’t know about the University as a whole, decon, but the MAJORITY of physicians in the medical school and hospital are conservatives and we are rather outspoken when it pertains to politics. (especially the liberal variety) My question to little kevie, ascribed to the ethics of promising one thing and then delivering something quite different. How say you on this matter? I would be interested in knowing.

“In case you were wondering who’s responsible, I take responsibility,” Obama said Thursday
.
Obama’s statement that he will take responsibility for the BP disaster raises the question, what does it mean to “take responsibility” for a disaster of this magnitude.
.
In the cases of Elizabeth Birnbaum and Michael Brown, it meant resignation.
.
In BP’s case, it will mean hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in clean up costs, real and inflated, on top of fines, and for the industry as a whole, still more uninformed and expensive, albeit earnest, regulation. For taxpayers, higher costs.
.
Other than a hollow statement made purely as a political ploy, EXACTLY what does Obama’s acceptance of responsibility entail?
.
Will he resign on the heels of Birnbaum? Will he personally pay clean up costs and fines? Or, … will he simply engage in politics as usual, blaming too lenient regulation and control of the private sector as an excuse to increase the size and presence of the government he so wants to expand? How conveeeeeeeeeeeeenient and how duplicitous.

Wow earlj. Thank you for that text-book example of hypocrisy. First you complain that kevin is just blaming Bush, then you lecture him on responsibility. How about taking the board out of your own eye before pointing out the splinter in someone else’s?

Unlike Truman, Obama’s reference to bucks stopping refers to your bucks stopping with him for redistribution to his socialist causes.

I can only imagine if crude did get into hurricanes and some how got ignited. Flaming hurricane across the states. Imagination is a dangerous thing…

But earljr is such a superior and holy person. Doctor, wealthy, successful, saintly. That’s what he tells us everyday.

3x: Katz is more than just agains diversity he is a raging homophobe and climate change denier.
.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/17/jonathan-katz-member-of-s_n_579206.html
http://wuphys.wustl.edu/~katz/defense.html

“The administration had found out that Professor Jonathan Katz of Washington University had written articles stating his views against Affirmative Action and diversity.”
.
I would have excluded him too.
.
You cannot fairly input into a public function that affects all people in an area if you posses views such as these. Further, his expertise is more than duplicated by others on the committee.

“I don’t know about the University as a whole, decon, but the MAJORITY of physicians in the medical school and hospital are conservatives and we are rather outspoken when it pertains to politics.”
.
I know this issue intimately as my wife had neurosurgery 3 years ago following a TIA which revealed she had two aneurysms in her brain.
.
Immediately following the surgery, while my wife was still recovering in the ICU, the anesthesiologist came over to our table (populated by my brother, two of my wife’s family, my sister, and my best friend), and pitched for the upcoming initiative on limiting lawsuits on the back of my wife’s operation.
.
This got me p!ssed.
.
When, the next two days, I took her to a follow up with the doctor who did the operation, we were harassed over forgetting the medicaid coupons. Not surprisingly, the very same cards that the anesthesiologist had handed out while he pitched the initiative were in a neat stack on the table.
.
You would have thought I had walked into the GOP election headquarters. It was a far right cesspool. Needless to say, I wasn’t pleased to be hassled over it (Keep in mind that Medicaid pays 90 days following a major operation!).
.
However, what I did do was make a complaint to patient liaison with supporting documentation with my relatives and friends who were there. I also followed up with a complaint to the FEC and the state attorney general over both their conduct.
.
The results?
.
When I went back two weeks later, there were flowers and scenery on the wall, pleasant music, and no political pamphlets anywhere.
.
Later, that doctor left the campus to practice elsewhere. If he reads the swamp, I have a message for him:
.
You saved my wife’s life, but you cheapened the accomplishment in the crassest possible way. You deserved everything you got.

Apr,
.
You really should knock off the garbage about Dr Earl. He has a right to his views.
You just sound like a person who is very jealous of his success.
.
Yes he is a good Christian person. That’s why he personally chose to go tro Hati many times to help the poorest of the poor.
.
Just because he has honest political views that are different then yours is no reason to try and degrade him like you do.
.
Calm down and use factual information if you’re going to refute what he says.
.
You Liberals could learn so valuable information from Conservative like Earl if you would spend more time engaging them in meaningful discussions rather all the anger.

Square 1,
.
Good Post. He should have taken Management 101 in college.

3x I have nothing against earljr’s being religious, his being a doctor, or being successful. I just find his lack of humility and his attack language quite unChristian. Therefore, his pomposity is worth mocking.

Before the 2008 election I was telling my son that the Republicans must be quaking in their boots. The Dems will dig in and investigate the corruption of the Bush years. Well didn’t exactly happen. Although, if the roles had been reversed the Reps would have been reveling in investigations.
.
Then before the 2010 elections I said to my son, the first thing Obama needs to do is go through every department and weed out the cronies, hacks and moles. Well didn’t exactly happen. Although, if the roles had been reversed the Rep President would have been reveling in throwing people out.

Yes, Obama should resign over this mess. That would be the proper thing to do. Tune into TBN to see who God tells Pat Robertson what to do next. And don’t forget to include that matching donation.

An event as rare as hen’s teeth:
.
Glenn Beck, in mocking Obama, has apologized for dragging his kids through the mud.
.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/29/beck-apologizes-for-mocking-obama%E2%80%99s-daughter/?fbid=VHwCEp-cuOl

Kevin,
.
Dream on.
.
When will you let Obama at least share the blame on anything? He’s not a child. You sound like the parent at a school meeting saying my son would never do that. It must be someone else’s fault.

(CNN) – Conservative talk-show host Glenn Beck apologized Friday after appearing to mock President Barack Obama’s 11-year-old daughter on his radio program earlier in the day.

In a statement posted on his website Friday afternoon, Beck said he broke his own rule about “leaving kids out of political debates.”

“In discussing how President Obama uses children to shield himself from criticism, I broke my own rule about leaving kids out of political debates,” said Beck in the statement. “The children of public figures should be left on the sidelines. It was a stupid mistake and I apologize–and as a dad I should have known better.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if Liberals, who continually make negative comments involving Sarah Palin’s children, had the courage, moral beliefs and honesty that Beck has and would leave the children of politicians on the side line? Children should not be fair game for anyone.
.
Please don’t try to make excuses saying she uses her children for political purposes and that makes them fair game. That maybe your perception but that does not make it reality. My perception is that she does not use her children for political gain any more or any less that most other politicians.
.
Just because you hate Palin doesn’t give you a right to make negative comments about her children.
.
As Stuart said, “liberals go crazy at the mention of Palin’s name”. This only gives a majority of Americans the perception that you are a crazy group and they only want to distance themselves from you even more. You do your Liberal cause no good.

3x, this is asking a lot, but try to follow me on this, please.
.
Liberals do not hate children, including Sarah Palin’s children.
.
Are you still with me?
.
Pointed remarks which may involve mention of children and childbirth and the Puritan ethic regarding children, are derived (caused) by Mrs. Palin’s judgmental quasi-Christian, pontifications on the matter.
.
Still here?
.
You see, her own life does not follow her pontifications and proclamations.
.
The disconnect causes people to snap back. Get it?
.
The point is that she is a hypocrite. Like you. And some people don’t like such dishonesty. Whether they are all Liberals or not is for another remedial lesson. I know you must be exhausted already.
.
Class dismissed.

formerly,
.
I hope you are not a teacher by profession.
.
You are an ideologue. You can not grasp simply logic. Your Perception of Sarah Palin is nothing more than your Perception. That does not make it Reality.
.
That you would defend the indefensible only shows that you have a totally closed mind which can justify anything if it fits your political view.
.
“The End Justifies The Means”. You and Karl would get along so well.

Apr,
.
Are you really brainwashing your own child? You don’t truly know whether your political views or perceptions are true. They may be. They may not be. History and time will make that decision.
.
Let the child be a child and let them learn with an open mind. Not one polluted by your particular perceptions of reality.
.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Liberals, who continually make negative comments involving Sarah Palin’s children, had the courage, moral beliefs and honesty that Beck has and would leave the children of politicians on the side line? Children should not be fair game for anyone
-
I’m curious, 3x. Which liberals have been attacking Palin’s children recently?

Sigh.
.
Did you even read the link I posted, or glance at my description of it? Yes, Obama’s administration shares the blame for this disaster, in that they knew what a trainwreck Bush had made of MMS and didn’t totally clean house earlier.
.
I know we’re not allowed to criticize Dubya, the Golden Child of Conservatism. He did no wrong in your world. All the problems that happened between 2001-2009 were evenly divided between leftovers of the evils of the Clinton administration and the all-wise free market pre-emptively imploding because of the impending evils of the Obama administration. It was all Democrats’ fault, always, right?

Seriously, provide some links of liberals attacking Palin’s kids. If it’s so widespread, it must be easy to prove several times over.

Will Obama resign? Hyperventilate much?

Here’s an exercise.
.
We know conservatives go after children all the time. Rush Limbaugh made crude jokes about Chelsea Clinton when she was 13, Beck and others have gone after the Obama girls, and Michelle Malkin, the Queen of Perpetual Outrage, sent her flying monkeys after Graeme Frost, stalking a small child.
.
When have their counterparts on the left done the same? Show me Keith Olbermann attacking one of Palin’s tween girls, or Rachel Maddow making jokes about Trig, or someone at Daily Kos doing what Malkin did.
.
Go. We’ll wait.

Well, what’s done is done, 3xfire3.
.
What was particularly interesting was Beck’s abject race-baiting.
.
As for Sarah Palin’s “qualities”, do you think I need to post again some of the several videos of her conduct?
.
I won’t bother, but honestly, do you think that Back’s race baiting will sell well among nonwhite conservative voters? Do you think that stuff like this will help the image of people like you, Rusty, 2/3rds, freeinpa and others as anything other than hateful and intolerant?
.
I know you will avoid honest answers to that question, but it really harks back to the idea that for every right, there is a responsibility.
.
Complaining to me about Sarah Palin’s reception is pointless. There are too many videos, speeches, and interviews that speak for themselves.
.
In the meantime. I pray with all my soul that you crackpots run Sarah Palin in 2012.
.
I pray on two Bibles…

I can’t imagine that even if you have cat 4 or 5 hurricanes, you’re going to get much more than a couple of miles inland – especially since we’re talking about liquids which (unlike solid missiles) can flatten themselves on the ground or seep into the soil. Furthermore, I would suspect that dispersal patterns would be fairly limited – the first few hundred feet (basically, the distance of the first fling off the surf) would be barren but beyond that, the dispersal would be fairly minimal.
.
Yes, a few hundred feet is pretty bad and the wetlands are going to be decimated, but that area is area that’s already going to be brutally damaged by this spill to begin with so my suspicion is that the net effect will be relatively small.

http://www.abercrombiehot.com
http://www.abercrombiecity.com
http://www.afandhco.com
http://www.afandhco.com

I’m surprised I haven’t come across this question yet and all it could imply: What will BP do with oil it recovers from the leaks? If it recovers oil directly from the leaks, can it be refined and sold? I’m curious because if BP can sell oil it recovers, then perhaps stopping the leak is being delayed until BP successfully implements a way to recover most of the leaking oil. In other words, placing business interests ahead of the ecosystem and populace. But if that oil can’t be sold, then I would no longer be suspicious of BP’s unsuccessful efforts thus far.