The president's job last night was to speak to 90% of americans who do not watch cable 24/7

[Windy]

To speak to those who don't really know what the hell is going on in the gulf unlike the people who read, watch tv obsessively and are up on the issues.

Keith, Chris, et al were trying to create controversy for ratings but as a result of their lack of insight and narrowmindedness, they will loose viewers. They have lost me. I'll stick to newspapers and not opinion "journalism".

Obama is a workaholic and doesn't quit. He is no Jimmy Carter as the ignorant have suggested. Carter got nothing through! Obama has already gotten healthcare legislation passed, and while imperfect, is more than we've ever gotten in the past.

He immediately addressed the crisis in the Gulf by working on the problem. Sorry if the talking heads have a problem with his PR.

Progressives are a circular firing squad. This is why dems don't hold power for long periods of time to the detriment of the country.

Its time that all of America began to think for themselves and not rely upon those on the left and right to tell them how to think and feel. Keith has frankly gotten a bit full of himself of late. After his ridiculous comments last night, totally ignoring what the president's obvious purpose was in making the speech and who is target audience was, he and Chris Matthews and Fineman deserve all the negative emails they are getting and if viewers are lost, well so be it. We don't need a Glenn Beck on the left!

[Captain Hilts]

1. We're TWO months into this crisis. The speech would have been appropriate a month ago. Not now. nt

[Windy]

3. He and his administration have been addressing the problem from the beginning

Sorry if the PR wasn't up to your liking. I want my president working and not worrying about being on TV!

[Captain Hilts]

7. I don't give a shit about the PR. I care about the wildlife. nt

[Windy]

17. And are you saying the president doesn't? that he doesnt care about the people as well

who's lives are going to be devastated by this?

What else do you want him to do????? He and the administration were down there from the beginning. They have begun a criminal investigation of BP, they have gotten BP to set up a 20 billion dollar escrow fund; he has the military down there, he has told BP to hire the out of work fisherman to help with the cleanup so that they are employed and the list goes on...

do you think that a republican president or frankly, Clinton, would have gone after an oil corporation like he has? Honestly?

If he wasn't working and just came out now with a speech, I would say that you had a point, but that didn't happen!!

[Captain Hilts]

24. I'm not talking about going after an oil company, I'm talking about mentioning wildlife

as something other than food.

That's all.

[sinkingfeeling]

44. Self-delete. Feeling pissed today, but not about politics.

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. Hate to point this out

but if he gave the speech the night of the accident, wild life will still die...

Speeches are not magical, and yes their PR sucks, but they have people on it. No, perhaps not enough people, but to say they have not been working on this from day one is disingenuous at best.

Oh and I care bout the wild life, but I also care about the human economies getting decimated right now.

[Cant trust em]

23. Speeches aren't going to save the wildlife. nt

[Captain Hilts]

37. What they talk about can. Nothing about a fund or where to contribute to help. nt

[Javaman]

10. Sadly, TV is now the main form of how many people get their news.

it's not PR when the President gives a timely update. It's informing the American public.

You have to remember, most of the people of this nation are not politically savvy.

They want to hear from him, PR or otherwise.

2 months is a long time for his first TV appearance.

You may now call me a troll, a political provocateur or what have you now.

[joeybee12]

11. Of course he was! and I've got beachfront property you'd be interested in! n/t

[Johonny]

16. I agree

the speech was only needed because the MSM is creating phantoms and panic. That he actually needed to talk about what is actually happening tells you about how good cable news is these days. For the most part it was a boring no duh speech.

[Javaman]

21. Phantoms and panic?

please explain, since I don't watch MSM for my information.

Things seem pretty damn dire along the gulf, but what do I know? I live in texas and have friends whose families fish for a living.

[Javaman]

5. Here here.

My wife and I said the exact same thing last night.

[MineralMan]

9. There, there!

[Javaman]

13. Thank you, sarah. nt

[FSogol]

6. A month ago there was still hope of capping the well off. What is the point of a speech

until you are sure what the conditions are and how bad everything will be?

[Captain Hilts]

8. He made some promises last night - which I hope turn out to be true - about capping.

But, again, I think this speech came a bit late.

Fingers crossed.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. You must be kididng me

here is the truth, IT WILL TAKE, AND HAS FROM THE BEGINNING, TAKE A RELIEF WELL.

There I feel better.

Relief wells take months to drill. It is not magic, it is very complex engineering.

If you ever read the Ixtoc I, I did, this one is following the same time line.

[FSogol]

30. I understand and agree. I was responding to why Obama's speech didn't happen 30 days ago. n/t

[EFerrari]

38. People most need to be talked to during moments of uncertainty.

I don't have any criticism of Obama's speech last night but think that his communications people are not serving him well when they let two months go by during a crisis of this magnitude before he talks to the nation.

[Captain Hilts]

40. I think that sums it up. I think the Prez wants to do the Right Thing but needs

to bring some urgency to this. I think this is where he should be using Biden and Mobama as his proxies.

Have Biden the point man down there. Have Michelle do the meet 'n' greet with the folks economically displaced.

[Poll_Blind]

14. +1

Indeed. I don't get why there is such disagreement on this point, either.

PB

[Auggie]

15. +2

[Jennicut]

2. Carter tried with policy details and lost people on it.

His malaise speech was seen as not a bad speech but he lost momentum on the narrative. Obama needs to sell people who don't want to give up on oil on alternative energy. He already has us. His speech was for them.

[maxsolomon]

4. The only relevant issue is the progress of the relief wells

Nothing the president does is going to make the drill bits turn faster.

[MineralMan]

12. Correct. But relief wells aren't sexy.

That's why you don't hear about their current progress in the news. Feh!

[K8-EEE]

20. It never occurs to people that some HUGE fuckups CAN'T be fixed

I'm tired of people confusing "leadership" with "magic wands" and being needy for all sorts of Reality Television Presidential Moments.

From the beginning everybody who's known what they're talking about has said a relief well was the only thing that would stop it. Everything else is Hail Mary time and predictably failed. WE SHOULD NEVER HAVE TAKEN THIS RISK. THE COST OF THE WORST CASE SCENARIO IS TOO HIGH. And yet people are still all "drill baby drill." That makes me feel utterly hopeless, more than anything else.

[Cant trust em]

25. +1

[bluestateguy]

22. If Carter got up there and gave a speech it would be specific indeed

So specific it would seem like a college level engineering lecture, full of jargon, and technocratic details. Like that SNL skit with Dan Akroyd as Carter explaining to a caller how to fix his radio.

[Cant trust em]

27. Sometimes Obama gets criticized for being too technical and professorial

and now he gets criticized for not giving enough detail.

I guarantee if he gets up there and turns into a policy wonk, then he'll get ripped for not connecting with average voters.

[WCGreen]

26. Total average viewing of cable news shows in a night is about...

7 million people.

There are over 325 million in the US so that's about 98% of the people who don't watch cable TV News...

[MineralMan]

28. +1

[Poll_Blind]

29. But that's ignoring all the other news sources which Americans are...

...exposed to, all of which covered this topic extensively. I take issue with those numbers as remotely representative of how informed America is about this situation.

PB

[WCGreen]

31. The original post was about cable news....

Which is far more dependent on opinion than broadcast news...

I think that was the intent of the OP...

[mfcorey1]

32. Yes, yes, yes

[Toasterlad]

33. What a Typical Internet Conceit: To Think You're More "Enlightened" Than "Normal People"

It's not a secret that there's been a huge fucking oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and that it happened when a BP oil rig exploded, or that every action taken since the spill to contain or shut it off has been one giant clusterfuck after another.

Just what exactly do you think YOU know that the "average American" DIDN'T know that Obama clarified in his sermon speech? More importantly, what plans did Obama specifically lay out to FIX this mess, besides suggesting that we pray to god to make it go away?

[pansypoo53219]

34. what you said.

all gnews need to shut their pie holes and inform instead of playing political ping pong.

[ConservativeDemocrat]

35. I don't boycott people whose opinion I disagree with...

even if I disagree with them vehemently. So long as they provide actual new information. And occasionally Kieth Olbermann does.


Fundamentally, however, you're right. All the criticism I've heard of Barack Obama is based on the idea that the Presidency is some sort of dictatorial office - that he can somehow just seize BP's money for the cleanup, instead of going through the court system.

It doesn't work that way. And when you realize it doesn't, then you realize why he is acting in the way he is.

- C.D. Proud Member of the Reality Based Community

[Captain Hilts]

36. Many are here for affirmation, not information. nt

[Cant trust em]

42. That's for damn sure.

Sometimes I really think that DU offers great insight and knowledge on important issues.

And then sometimes I just see a bunch of kneejerking and patting ourselves on the back.

It's an interesting little community to be sure.

[Captain Hilts]

43. Yes. I get a lot of right wing crank e-mails and I come here to see

what Democrats think. A lot of them don't think.

Some trash the president no matter what. Others defend him no matter what.

They're no better than the ignorant Republicans I know.

[Individualist]

39. So why would anyone think that those who don't really know what the hell is going on in the gulf

would take the time to watch Obama's speech?

Incidentally, "circular firing squad" is a well known, way past worn out DLC meme.

[blindpig]

41. What horseshit

Why should that make any difference?

So what are you saying? That he was delivering pablum to the ignorant masses and that 'we' should ignore it because 'we' know better?

Hell, I don't watch TV at all, was he talking to me? Read the transcript, heard some blurbs on the radio, he said nothing, nothing at all.

[Windy]

45. It wasn't pablum. It was information. jesus.

He's done pretty damn well in getting things done with regard to this mess that he didn't create despite not being an expert on oil drilling and toxic waste and clean up!

[blindpig]

46. "done pretty well getting things done.."

By letting BP putz around and put their priorities ahead of the interests of the people? By apparently acquiescing to BP managing any information that might piss people off? By standing by while BP endangers workers to avoid the appearance of toxicity? Has Tony done the perp walk? Has BP been expropriated yet?

BP is the dog waging the government tail.