President Obama was Informed, forthright and human in the News Conference

[FrenchieCat]

That's the best kind of President we could have elected.

One who is fluent on the issues at hand,
and is able to communicate the germaine points
neither defensively nor offensively but with facts and information,
without getting pissed, flustered, stumped, or patronizing.

He didn't try to squirm out of taking some responsibility,
nor did he discuss the situation in a speculatively or pre-emptive
manner.

He's only human, and I think that's a big part of the message given....
he's on top of this, but no, he ain't fucking perfect. That's a good thing;
he doesn't believe he has to be perfect to do the job needed to be done.

[mzteris]

1. He was very "Presidential"

in my estimation.

I can't for the life of my understand why some people think he's "not". ..maybe they had eight years looking at a really really bad example.

[LeftyAndProud60]

2. I get the feeling the "Lamestream" media wont agree. NT

[FrenchieCat]

3. I really don't give a fuck about them.......

They basically will fail to set the agenda of "How we should feel",
if we tell them to collectively kiss our asses......

Kind of like what they did after the debates...insisting that McCain had won,
until we told them then to kiss our asses.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

4. The question is, will people accept the fact that a reasoned response is called for?

Or do they want the kind of poorly thought, impulsive "cowboy" response they would have gotten if Bozo was still in office?

Our society is so addicted to immediate gratification that the administration is going to have to woo people over to the side of thinking things through.

[FrenchieCat]

6. Guess even if he can't change Washington and our politics overnight,

He will attempt to lead the way by example.

I think on that front, he hasn't let us down yet,
in that he's been consistent in his intentions
to make sure that whatever he is doing in his job
is the best that he could possibly humanly do
as it happens.

He has shown this in dealing with the Financial Crisis,
the Pirate thingie, the H1N1 flu outbreak, with his handling of Haiti,
and even the bombing attempts.

Not once have I had the feeling that he was covering up something,
or pointing fingers defensively....and even when he does assign blame,
which is usually when it is evident, he still places himself as the
party to in the end judge on a great number of responsibilities without hesitation.
I find that unusual, compared to recent presidencies.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

10. I think he explained things as clearly and precisely as he could...

He's neither a geologist nor a petroleum expert. And no one should expect him to try to act like one.
I think it would be helpful and somewhat reassuring to the public if he could bring out a team of experts to help answer people's questions. I suspect the reason he hasn't done this yet is that the experts are all befuddled by the current situation, and they don't want to waste precious brainstorming time answering a lot of questions with "I don't know."

[Still Sensible]

5. I thought he said what he needed to say

and that he stood up to every question. He could have shown a little more viscera, as was hinted at by Axelrod yesterday. John King on CNN, who often comes off as a right wing shill, was correct I believe in his analysis of this presser. He said President Obama's cool personality serves him well in many situations, but in a crisis such as this, not so much. Despite his apparent disdain for empty photo ops, a lot of the public really wants to see that the President is fully engaged and a bullhorn moment or a Clintonesque "I feel your pain," superficial though that may sometimes seem, would be helpful. I think the presser satisfied much, in an intellectual sense, that the White House has been and is engaged... on his trip to the Gulf tomorrow he will have the opportunity to show that solving the problems, cleaning up the devastation and restoring the coast is not simply an intellectual exercise.

[limit18]

7. Wll,he had plenty of time to prepare?

[FrenchieCat]

8. To prepare for what? To answer questions from assholes

who's only wish is to politicize this shit instead of solving the problem
as it is happening?

Life ain't not fucking sitcom. You ain't just watching this on TV.
The President has a myriad of responsibilities, but he ain't fucking God....
and he doesn't walk on water. It doesn't matter what he says if the leak
doesn't stop, cause that's how American judge success...it ain't what you've got to say,
it's what happens in the long run. Therefore, I'm waiting for this leak to stop,
and then at some point, will be willing to look at an after action report....
till then, since I ain't no expert, I ain't got that much to say; how things were handled...
cause I don't fucking really know....and it is true, neither do most people
commenting on the Internet.

[JTFrog]

11. Obvious troll is....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=8398522#8403740">OBVIOUS

[Cha]

9. It's been a nightmare and our President was clear, took responsibility

when needed and very empathic to those who are feeling the brunt.

And, there from Day One..

Joint Information Center
At the beginning of the event, the Coast Guard elevated the response and established a Regional Command Center and Joint Information Center in Robert, La., inviting all partners in the response to join. Get the latest updates from the partners on the ground in the Gulf Coast: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com

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Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Since the moments after the oil rig explosion on the night of April 20, DHS has played a lead role in federal response efforts—deploying the U.S. Coast Guard to search and rescue the 126 people aboard the rig, and quickly leading efforts to establish a command center on the Gulf Coast to address the potential environmental impact of the event and to coordinate with all state and local governments. Secretary Napolitano leads the National Response Team, an organization of 16 federal departments and agencies responsible for coordinating emergency preparedness and response to oil and hazardous substance pollution events.

U.S. Coast Guard
The Coast Guard has played a major role from the very beginning, when it responded to the explosion on a search and rescue mission to save lives. Pursuant to the National Contingency Plan, Rear Admiral Mary Landry was named the Federal On-Scene Coordinator to lead a Regional Response Team which was stood up that included DHS, DOC/NOAA, DOI and the EPA, as well as state and local representatives. As the event escalated, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen was announced as the National Incident Commander for the administration’s continued, coordinated response—providing additional coordinated oversight in leveraging every available resource to respond to the BP oil spill and minimize the associated environmental risks.

Department of the Interior (DOI)
The morning after the explosion, Secretary of the Interior deployed Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes to the Gulf Coast to assist with coordination and response to the event, and provide hourly reports back to the administration. Since then, DOI has played a vital role in overseeing BP’s response efforts while—at the President’s request—working to deliver a report with recommendations on what, if any, additional safety measures should be required for offshore operations. Secretary Salazar has announced that inspections of all deepwater rigs and platforms are underway.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Since the BP Oil Spill, EPA has provided full support to the U.S. Coast Guard and is monitoring and responding to potential public health and environmental concerns. Environmental data, including air quality and water samples, will be posted and frequently updated on this site as it is collected and validated by EPA’s response teams along the impacted coastlines. This data is meant to determine potential risks to public health and the environment: http://www.epa.gov/bpspill

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
As the nation’s leading scientific resource for oil spills, NOAA has been on the scene of the Deepwater Horizon spill from the start, providing coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations: http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/deepwaterhorizon
Weather Forecast: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lix/

Small Business Administration
SBA is making low-interest loans available to small businesses in the Gulf Coast regions of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi suffering financial losses following the April 20 Deepwater BP oil spill that shut down commercial and recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) are available immediately in designated counties and parishes of each of the four states to help meet the financial needs of qualifying small businesses following the oil spill: http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance/

Department of Defense (DOD)
DOD continues to support the ongoing response effort by lending Naval and Air Force bases to provide vital staging areas for boom deployments and other activities, and providing C-130 aircraft equipped with Modular Aerial Spray Systems, which dispense chemical dispersant—capable of covering up to 250 acres per flight. DOD also plays a significant role in the National Response Team, helping to lead the coordination of response actions for the federal government. Secretary of Defense Gates has authorized use of Title 32 status for up to 17,500 National Guard members in four states: Alabama (3,000), Florida (2,500), Louisiana (6,000) and Mississippi (6,000).

Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service
The Fish and Wildlife Service continues to support the joint agency response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico with experienced specialists, land managers, and support personnel. Booms to capture and deflect anticipated oil are being deployed at Breton National Wildlife Refuge, where thousands of brown pelicans and shorebirds are currently nesting. The Service also is initiating Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration activities in this incident to assess and address the long-term damage to impacted resources: http://www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill

Department of the Interior’s National Park Service
The National Park Service is focused on human safety and resource protection in eight national parks in the Gulf area. These parks are working to assess resources, collect baseline data, coordinate boom placements, plan for responsible cleanup, install barriers for shore bird and turtle nest protection, and plan for potential park closures, if necessary: http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Oil spill response workers may be exposed to many different chemical, physical, biological, and psychological hazards. These hazards vary depending on the type and location of the oil spill, type and stage of response, degree of coordination between entities involved in response and recovery, and the workers’ specific tasks. Therefore, occupational and environmental hazards need to be identified, assessed, and monitored in each oil spill response: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse

http://www.whitehouse.gov/deepwater-bp-oil-spill