Heh, after the boy president made his McVay comment and then the (P)resident made his comment about inflaming comments watching an administration flunky make that statement the first thought that hit me was "Jackbooted thugs".

Google that one BH and AB and tell me why you aren't worried.

Ken Salazar is a lop. What the hell were they doing for days after the incident? BP does not have the resources to do clean up 51 miles at sea.

Barry is also trying to place jackboots on the neck of Tea parties attendees. The regimes true colors are shown via a Freudian slip

The liberal/statists will not let this disaster got to waste on their attempt to socialize the oil industry. I hope gas prices go up to $5 a gallon so people will finally wake up to this "green jobs" and cap and trade BS. Nothing gets the attention like a kick in the wallet regardless, of your ideology.

Pretty strong words from an administration that probably could not organize an oil change for my car.

Man, I hate it when they actually say what they mean.

The same "boot on the neck" goes for anyone they want to control, which of course is everyone.

Most transparently fascist government ever.

IMO, BP should be on the hook for every cent this spill costs. It's one of the costs of doing business.

"The jackboots are coming! The jackboots are coming!"

Odd, how these things play out. There are things in just about every BP contract that are risky for the company doing business with BP (personal knowledge). I have strong suspicions that a lot of the material and parts used on that rig were covered by contracts with similar language that may well have shifted liability and pollution responsibility from BP to contractors and suppliers.

Let's also not forget that this was an unusual event. The rig in question had a near-perfect record for safety, the technology used in operation (dynamic positioning) is state-of-the-art, and like all rigs this venture was a cooperative effort of many companies, from the lines, structure, valves, pumps, and so on throughout the facility. In ordinary situations, the facility would be inspected once the people were evacuated and the fire out, but in this case the rig has been heavily damaged and has sunk; it's now several hundred feet under the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, and even the best reconstruction is months away from determining the cause of the initial blast, let alone liability.

But as usual, facts are not a concern to President Unicorn, nor the fact that BP's gulf operations are a matter of maritime law, not White House Press Releases.

Oh, and by the way - Exxon is a US company, BP, "British Petroleum", is, well, not.

What if Bush or Cheney had said this?

"But as usual, facts are not a concern to President Unicorn, nor the fact that BP's gulf operations are a matter of maritime law, not White House Press Releases."

Excellent point, which I have not seen anywhere in the coverage to date.

Anyone else getting the vibe that this crew of incompetents is in WAY OVER THEIR HEADS?

Excuse me, but at least a major portion of blame accrues to the Administration who did essentially nothing for nine days.

With that addendum, ditto DJ above.

GF ~ Of course they are incompetent. The Obama Regime features the fewest appointees from the private sector in a century, under 25% have any private experience at all (and nearly all of it most of those have was at investment banks and law firms). It's an Administration of people who have spent their lives in government and academia, and have never had to live with the consequences of their ideas.

It would be called DATA OVERLOAD.

They can't actively deal with more than two issues occurring at the same time, hence the delay with the drilling platform/oil spill and saying Immigration Reform was "off the table" only to have the Dimbulb from Searchlight announce Thursday that he was presenting a "framework" to bring it up. War on Terror? Didja hear about the SUV in Times Square, let alone Afghanistan.

Unemployment? Housing market/401k/Banking/ collapses?

Buller? Buller??

Better tighten up those seat belts, the ride is about to get harsh.

Look for the administration to send in additional SWAT teams like they did in Ohio and the Oil Drilling platforms.

If we could somehow convince this administration that Iran and North Korea, and taxes and business regulations, were as evil as Toyota, Goldman Sachs and BP, then we might be able to get places.

I'm Barry Obama, and my administration has been stepping on BP's neck since Day Eight.

Get the impression that reports back to the White House contain the word "icky"?

hughS - "Excellent point, which I have not seen anywhere in the coverage to date."

Agreed, maritime law is a valid point, but on the other hand maybe not.

Here are a list of cases related to the subject, of note is this one:

Soco Offshore Inc v. Samedan Oil Corp
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
April 13, 2000

Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ("OCSLA"): In determining whether an offshore area was "adjacent" to Alabama under the OCSLA, the court considered geographic proximity, federal agency action, prior court determinations and projected boundaries. The Court affirmed the district court's finding that the offshore area was adjacent to Alabama, thus Alabama law is considered the law of the United States in the area and will govern in deciding a dispute between the parties under a joint operating agreement for development of a federal oil and gas lease in the offshore area.

How all this plays out with the current incident is subject for debate, but I bet with more than the cursory search I did more case law can be found.

This is another thing that irks me. He's going to Louisiana. Screw Florida, Mississippi, Alabama...right?

Florida has better golf courses.