Everyone agrees that the BP Oil Spill is a manmade disaster of historical proportions. Disasters have a way of separating leaders from losers. Obviously, the biggest losers from this catastrophe will be people living along the Gulf Coast and the American taxpayers. Notwithstanding hollow promises that the American taxpayers will never have to pay a nickel, everyone in the real world knows that is not true. The ripple effect of the economic consequences of the spill reach throughout the country, and the people that will ultimately be called upon to carry that burden will be American taxpayers.
But, there are other losers in this process. There are the politicians charged with responding to the challenges of the moment. And, while there are losers, there are also winners - winners in the sense that they met and exceeded the expectations of those around them and of those whom they are charged to protect. Here is a brief summary of the "winners" and "losers" arising out of the BP oil spill. Of course, the list is so long that this brief overview is but a partial list.
Winner - Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. After his poor performance in the State of the Union response last year, few gave the young governor much of a future on the national stage. Well, few of those doubts remain. Governor Jindal stood up immediately on behalf of Louisiana with an affirmative action plan to protect his state as much as physically possible. While the federal government dithers, he has moved forward decisively. He has also made one important point. When there is an airline crash, the government does not stop all flying. Here, it makes no sense to stop all drilling. The drilling moratorium only serves to increase the risks at other wells and increase the economic impact on a struggling economy.
Loser - Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. So far, the Homeland Security Secretary has done nothing to make Americans feel secure. After indicating that the system worked regarding the Christmas Day bomber, she announced that the response to the BP Oil Spill was "all hands on deck." Well, the truth was that many hands were turned away by the federal government in the wake of the disaster. Indeed, other countries, companies, and individuals offered help in real terms with real ships and real hands on deck. Yet, they were turned away as the oil steadily leaked in huge volumes into the Gulf of Mexico on its way to Florida beaches and Louisiana marshlands. No one can quite explain how the Homeland Security Secretary keeps her job.
Loser - Interior Secretary Ken Salazaar. Generally regarded as a weak link in the Administration's chain, Interior Secretary Ken Salazaar lived up (or down) to his billing. Immediately after the spill, he gathered experts to assess and recommend solutions. The purpose was to show how quickly the government could respond and how well. As it turns out, his report was neither timely nor accurate. It took weeks to produce as millions of gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf. And, as it turns out, the report itself was not an accurate reflection of the experts' recommendations. The Interior Secretary took the liberty of adding a couple paragraphs after circulating the draft report to the experts. Well, he got busted. The experts called him on it and noted that the report's recommendations were not their recommendations. He apologized. Unfortunately, the apology does little to make up for the lost time and the impaired credibility of his office.
Losers - BP Chairman Carl Henric-Svanberg and BP President Tony Hayward. Both of these executives created sizable verbal spills of their own. The BP Chairman talked about helping the "small people" and Hayward just made one mistake after another. If they really want to help their company, they should spend some time with the "small people" and discover just how their oil affects people who do not fly around on private jets and stay in luxurious accommodations. Living it, just a little, does a lot for changing one's frame of reference. They should try a couple days in Louisiana cleaning up the oil. It might change the way they think and the way they talk about this catastrophe and the people it affects.
Loser - President Barack Obama. Even James Carville agrees that the President's handling of the largest environmental disaster in history has been pitiful. He thinks that occasionally dropping the a-- word or the d--- word somehow solves the problem or demonstrates his passion for solving the problem. Well, it does not. Neither quips nor trips do much. Action does. Unfortunately, spills do not wait on anyone, even a President. The spill was bad enough. The delay has made its damage irreparable.
