Kerry: criticism of Obama on oil spill 'ridiculous'

[ProSense]

Kerry: criticism of Obama on oil spill 'ridiculous'

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON – Senator John Kerry this morning aggressively defended President Obama’s handling of the oil spill in the Gulf Coast, and said the spill illustrated the need for Congress to act on the Massachusetts Democrat’s signature climate change bill.

“This is ridiculous folks,” Kerry said this morning at an hourlong breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. “From day one, this administration has had its top personnel all over this issue. They don’t drill wells, companies do. And the oil companies are the people who are supposed to have the technology to shut it down.”

“We’ve had this lack of oversight for years,” Kerry added. “The president’s been in office for a year and a half and suddenly a well blows out and everybody says, ‘Why can’t you plug it?’”

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“Clearly the rules have been laxly applied,” Kerry said of the regulations over offshore drilling. “But as I’ve said before, for better or worse, we’re stuck with having to drill for the next 20, 30 years unless there is some extraordinary breakthrough with a new fuel mechanism that will (change) where we are today.”

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Video: Sen. John Kerry: Halt to offshore oil drilling 'not going to happen'

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“Now we are not going to stop drilling in the Gulf tomorrow, folks. Let’s be realistic. There are 48,000 wells out there. One of them went sour. About 30 percent of our transportation fuel comes from the Gulf. You think Americans are going to suddenly stop driving to work tomorrow? Do you think people are going to stop driving the trucks to deliver the goods to the department stores? Not going to happen,” said the Massachusetts Democrat.

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