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“I’d like my life back.”

By Kate Pickert | @katepickert | June 2, 2010 | +

When BP CEO Tony Hayward uttered those words a few days ago, he looked like an out of touch rich guy who’s annoyed that he has to deal with an inconvenient oil spill. “There’s no one who’d like this over more than me,” he said of the largest oil disaster in U.S. history that claimed the lives of 11 rig workers.

Well, now Hayward has apologized, calling his statement “hurtful and thoughtless.” (This is the second time Hayward has gotten himself into hot water over his words. Remember this?)

But is Hayward’s job security in doubt? Democratic Rep. Charlie Melancon, who’s running against incumbent Republican David Vitter for a Louisiana U.S. Senate seat, said today, “I wish the [BP] board would call him back.” But this seems unlikely. As the Hill notes, BP Managing Director Robert Dudley recently told NBC he thinks Hayward is “doing a fantastic job.”

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  • allthingsinaname

    The Teabag party will endorse him soon.

  • sacredh

    “I’d like my life back.”

    Sure Tony. No problem. You have to give us back the gulf, our marshlands, the beaches, the fishing industry, the tourism industry, the wildlife and the estuaries first though. Then you can have your life back.

  • kbanginmotown

    Well put, sacred!

  • Ffred

    “Don’t think ‘oil-soaked Alaskan wildlife’…
    think ‘chocolate moose’!”
    –Bloom County

  • Joe Bftsplk

    “Heckuva job, Oily!”

  • http://forgottenlord.livejournal.com forgottenlord

    I hope he stays. Why? Like the President, a different person being in that position will do nothing about fixing the oil spill. Therefore, the longer he stays there, the more BP will suffer with zero real effect upon everyone else. The longer he stays there, the more people will come to understand the distinct lack of “accountability” in corporations. I hope he gets a $30 million bonus for “guiding BP through troubled times”, and I hope that the citizens of the United States read that as “he made $30 million for destroying the Gulf of Mexico”. And then, may the days of corporate greed be put into crystal clear focus for the American public and may the CEOs of the world (who make just as much when they destroy their companies as they do when they build their companies) be forever tarnished and no longer held in the high esteem that free marketers seem to treat them with.

  • rose83

    “There’s no one who’d like this over more than me,”

    That may be true. But if he had cared so much about protecting the gulf from oil before all this, BP would have ensured that the correct safety procedures were followed.

  • nibblybits

    Well, the interests of BP shareholders are in conflict with those of the American public, particularly those most affected in the Gulf Coast. It’s gonna take an indictment to get the guy out.

  • http://patricksartor.wordpress.com patricksartor

    “Hayward is “doing a fantastic job.”"
    .
    “Brownie you’re doing a heck of a job.”
    .
    I know the MSM is following the lead of the right and calling this “Obama’s Katrina” but, I see it as BP’s, not BO’s Katrina.
    .
    “…he looked like an out of touch rich guy..”
    .
    When I was a child my parents used to correct me any time I said something redundant like “a rich millionaire”, “a big, huge place” and so on. Now, “…an out of touch rich guy..” that is another redundant statement like “angry conservative”.
    .
    When weren’t the very rich completely out of touch?
    .
    I think many people will see this as big oil’s if not big business’s Katrina.
    .
    Sure, die hard right wingers would never see it this way or see anything in front of their eyes which contradicts their world view. If GWB on live television had taken out a machine gun and killed his unarmed audience they would have blamed the audience, so, they do not count.
    .
    Making a profitable business is about focusing on getting your product or service out there and not thinking too much about outside factors. In a huge majority of cases, that is just fine since computer programmers don’t have to worry that a lap top might cause an environmental catastrophe in the gulf coast, and a guy running your coffee shop doesn’t usually destroy thousand if wildlife by accident. However, with some businesses, those blinders of big business omit the massive damage that a business can cause.

  • http://patricksartor.wordpress.com patricksartor

    “Your comment is awaiting moderation.”
    .
    Why is that happening to me?
    .
    I didn’t use any objectionable language.

  • Joe Bftsplk

    @#$%!!! moderation. Let’s try this:

    “He!!uva job, Oily!”

  • middlegirl

    Free Tony Hayward! Give the man his life back- – in another company.

  • Joe Bftsplk

    OK, 3rd (and increasingly irrelevant) try to avoid moderation:

    “Heckuva job, Wayward!”

  • gysgt213

    Wondering why this guy wasn’t getting more attention in the firstplace. Like to know why reporters are being blocked by BP and using LA law enforcement and the Coast Guard to do so.

  • destor23

    Let’s give him his life back. In Gitmo.

  • hellslittlestangel

    I’d like to see a judge give him life.

  • sacoharry

    A fantastic job? I’d say a heckuva job.

  • hippooath

    “LEAVE TONY ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!!!!”

    What was that Glenn and Rush??? Our large oceans will take care of it?

  • http://phd9.blogspot.com Paul Dirks

    Just as I ask who insist that “the government is inherently inefficient” to look at the lines of accountability to determine why they might think that and to identify where the real problems lie, we can perform the same exercise on BP. There were problems with the well that caused significant concerns among personnel there. But the lines of accountability, the determination of what sort of behavior is rewarded and what sort of behavior is punished, determined that the best course of action was to shove the problems under the rug.
    .
    The nature of Corporate organization almost guarantees the response. Would the CEO have approved had he been informed? Probably not. That’s why he wasn’t informed.

  • http://phd9.blogspot.com Paul Dirks

    Your comment is awaiting moderation.

    Just as I ask who insist that “the government is inherently inefficient” to look at the lines of accountability to determine why they might think that and to identify where the real problems lie, we can perform the same exercise on BP. There were problems with the well that caused significant concerns among personnel there. But the lines of accountability, the determination of what sort of behavior is rewarded and what sort of behavior is punished, determined that the best course of action was to sh0ve the problems under the rug.
    .
    The nature of Corporate organization almost guarantees the response. Would the CEO have approved had he been informed? Probably not. That’s why he wasn’t informed.

  • http://phd9.blogspot.com Paul Dirks

    The moderation filter is damaged…….

  • freeinpa

    “Well, the interests of BP shareholders are in conflict with those of the American public”
    ==
    It seems the shareholders and public may be one and the same.

    Mutual fund share ownership of BP

    VANGUARD/WINDSOR II 9,784,515
    VANGUARD SPECIALIZED-ENERGY FUND 7,867,800
    VANGUARD/WELLINGTON FUND INC. 7,136,000
    FIDELITY DIVERSIFIED INTERNATIONAL FUND 6,650,000
    PRICE (T.ROWE) EQUITY INCOME FUND 3,698,700
    VANGUARD/WELLESLEY INCOME FUND 3,572,300
    American Beacon Large Cap Value Fd 2,153,900
    FMI LARGE CAP FD 2,146,000
    PRICE (T.ROWE) NEW ERA FUND 2,114,473
    PUTNAM EQUITY INCOME FUND 1,697,000
    ==

  • http://phd9.blogspot.com Paul Dirks

    Just as I ask who insist that “the government is inherently inefficient” to look at the lines of accountability to determine why they might think that and to identify where the real problems lie, we can perform the same exercise on BP. There were problems with the well that caused significant concerns among personnel there. But the lines of accountability, the determination of what sort of behavior is rewarded and what sort of behavior is punished, determined that the best course of action was to shove the problems under the rug.
    .
    The nature of Corporate organization almost guarantees the response. Would the CEO have approved had he been informed? Probably not. That’s why he wasn’t informed

    Read more: http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/06/02/id-like-my-life-back-2/#comments#ixzz0piwRuFUc

  • gloriousglo2

    He may soon become the Rod Blagojevich of the oil industry, but without the hair….

  • apr2563

    freeper: You are right. The American public has supported our dependence on oil. And, please, would some reporter ask these sanctimonious pols from both parties how much they have received from oil lobbyists? Quit quoting Melancon without context.

  • http://erieangel.wordpress.com erieangel

    Haywood is an out of touch rich guy and nothing can change that until he is unable to order that shrimp cocktail.

  • sacredh

    “The moderation filter is damaged…….”
    .
    That might have been me. Sorry. I do like to test that sucker.

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