Douglas Brinkley: the oil spill isn't Obama's Katrina moment
From the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico to Washington, critics charge that the Obama administration didn't act fast enough after the April 20 oil rig explosion and subsequent spill.
Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh called the incident "Obama's Hurricane Katrina." A Palm Beach Post editorial stated that Obama "acted way too much like George Bush after Katrina.
" A Washington Examiner headline read: "Gulf oil spill becoming Obama's Katrina: A timeline of presidential delay."
Is the analogy fair?
No, says Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian who was in New Orleans, Louisiana, during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
"There's no comparison whatsoever between them," he said. "This was a corporate bungle" by BP, which owns the rig and is ultimately responsible for the cleanup efforts.
"But the Obama administration has done nothing wrong," he added. "This has been BP not having a plan A or plan B or plan C or plan D for capping this. They are winging it."...
Read entire article at Laredo Sun
Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh called the incident "Obama's Hurricane Katrina." A Palm Beach Post editorial stated that Obama "acted way too much like George Bush after Katrina.
" A Washington Examiner headline read: "Gulf oil spill becoming Obama's Katrina: A timeline of presidential delay."
Is the analogy fair?
No, says Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian who was in New Orleans, Louisiana, during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
"There's no comparison whatsoever between them," he said. "This was a corporate bungle" by BP, which owns the rig and is ultimately responsible for the cleanup efforts.
"But the Obama administration has done nothing wrong," he added. "This has been BP not having a plan A or plan B or plan C or plan D for capping this. They are winging it."...