Whether this means he is fully engaged is another question. Outside of the GOP, most people understand that the disaster was in large part caused by Republican policies of self-regulation that removed the government from proper oversight. Even with that in mind though, it remains very challenging for liberals to accept the drifting and lack of a plan. Giving BP the benefit of the doubt for the first week or so is understandable. Failing to organize your own team of experts to verify BP claims and act independently is much more challenging for people to understand. The White House has to stop talking tough and start acting tough. There's still nothing to suggest BP executives fear anything beyond losing their jobs with massive golder parachutes.
Five weeks of rudderless leadership during a defining crisis is not doing anyone - including the environment - any favors. Is it so wrong to have higher expectations than a Bush-like response?
Obama will also travel to Louisiana on Friday, the White House said. He will get an update on the oil spill response and cleanup and will meet with residents who have been personally affected by the oil gushing from a damaged undersea well head, officials said.
And he is expected to discuss the disaster Thursday, after the Interior Department reports on the circumstances that led up to the spill. Obama had ordered a review, set to arrive later this week.
The show of greater attentiveness from the president comes five weeks after an April 20 explosion on a rig off the Louisiana shore killed 11 workers and triggered the oil spill. It also follows criticism from Republicans, and some Democrats, that the administration has not done enough in the crisis.
