Obama “takes responsibility,” yeah, right.

Cartoon; By Glen McCoy.

After BP announcements indicated that they were achieving some success with their “top kill” operation to plug the leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico, President Obama decided to take responsibility for it. It is something like “The buck stops here,” only retrospectively.

His administration has been criticized for some time for what has been described as a lax response to the crisis. If this is the case it is fortunate for the gulf and the environment, as any lack of government action has effectively allowed the oil company to get on with dealing with it unhindered by bureaucracy and armchair experts. There is nothing worse in these situations than unknowing idiots, whose opinions are backed by authority.

We are all aware that the response by government to any crisis is an arse covering exercise followed by the establishment of a Congressional committee to deliberate on the subject, and then recommend a series of enquiries. In conjunction with this the Senate would conduct its own high drama inquisitions, calling needed experts away from the cutting edge of the action in order to give themselves the opportunity to grandstand on Cspan.

Trust me; the last thing needed in a crisis involving technological difficulties is a decisive government.

A good example of government action is the revelation that the Minerals Management Service, which is in charge of giving permits to oil companies is generally corrupt and its employees have been taking bribes during those intervals when they are not too stoned or absorbed with watching porn during working hours. They give authority to apparatchiks to interfere in billion dollar projects on whim and wonder what happened when these people decide they want a piece of the action.

No doubt it will be claimed that the big bad oil companies ‘corrupted’ them. When the person who has the authority of the state to stand in your way wants money not to do so, the reasonable thing to do is pay the bastard, just like a political donation, but to the underlings. These people are taking bribes because they are corrupt, not because the oil companies are evil.

The response to this situation is typical of the thinking of the state. The MMS is to be abolished and be replaced with two bureaus and a revenue collections office. The answer to a failed government agency is always in the opinion of creatures of the state, more of them.

About the craziest and most dangerous suggestion Obama has made is that the federal government might establish its own team with its own equipment, paid for by the oil companies. How out of touch with reality do you have to be to think that the sort of people who over years have acquired the knowledge and experience to deal with such situations, would take a government salary, rather than go where the real money is?

His statement about little Malia knocking on his bathroom door and peeking in saying, 'Did you plug the hole yet, Daddy?' is probably an indication of the way he promotes himself.