Presidential Press Conference on Gulf Oil Spill Disaster NOW. UPDATE: He also took questions on AZ immigration law and Afghanistan /// UPDATE: Press Conference Video

[Suzan]

President Obama is holding a press conference on the status of the oil leak. I'm watching it on ABC.

[Suzan]

He started out talking about the Top Kill procedure. Now he's talking about regulation, the oil companies' cozy and sometimes corrupt relationship with regulators and the problems with MMS, Mineral Management Service.

Now he's talking about the off-shore drilling that will be suspended and I missed the four points he made, but it's not just Alaska.

And now he's talking about prevention. There will be a new national commission to study the disaster. He wants to know what worked and what didn't work and where the regulatory process broke down.

And now he's on clean and renewable energy.

[Suzan]

Jennier Loven, AP: More than five weeks into crisis and BP is not always doing what you're asking. Loven also asked about the critcism of Obama's personal engagement.

Obama answered the 2nd question first. He's denying that they were slow or unresposive. He said it's been the WH's first priority since the crisis occurred. They knew the enormity of the crisis from day one and moved forward. Now, he's elaborating and naming some of the people and organizations involved. "This is the single most important thing that we have to get right."

Relationship between gov and BP: US gov has always been in charge of making sure the response is appropriate, but BP is responsible for stopping the leak and paying for the damage. They do so under the government's decision and anything they do is under the approval of Thad Allen, the National Incident Coordinator (not sure I got that right). The fed gov does not possess superior equipment to BP to deal with this crisis. The question being asked is whether the gov should have superior technology. That will be answered by the commission.

He's now outlining how difficult the process is, primarily because of the depth of the drilling. A brain trust has been brought together to serve as an oversight board with the BP engineers/scientists to determine how much mud could be poured down, how fast, without the whole thing blowing (Top Kill operation).

He continues to go into detail about what's been done and why it hasn't worked. He just mentioned someone who's in charge of protecting the shoreline resources. And now he's again saying the crisis was his top priority all along.

[Suzan]

Jake Tapper, NBC: You say that everything's been done, but those in the area say that isn't true. Gov Jindahl, fishermen in the area, etc. Why aren't we using vacuuming technique used in (Saudi Arabia?). 18 countries have offered to help. Why aren't we taking advantage of that?

(paraphrasing) Obama answered that if the question was were we doing things perfectly, the answer is no. It's about considering all the options and making decisions. The job of the response team is to evaluate what help's been ofered, how fast can it be here and make decisions on the best information available. Sometimes bigger isn't better.

[Suzan]

Chuck Todd, msnbc: Criictism from Gulf Coast politicians and others. Mary Landrieu has said it's not clear who's in charge. Government should be in charge. (Todd mentioned others as well). Why not ask BP to completely step aside?

Todd also asked Obama to respond to Katrina comparison

Obama (paraphrasing and definitely not word for word): I'll leave it to you guys to make those comparisons (Katrina). I'm spending my time thinking how do we solve the problem ... I'm confident people will say this administraiton was on top of what is an unprecedented crisis.

BP has contracts with a whole bunch of contractors on file in case there's an oil spill. Those subcontractors are down there now and being paid for by BP. If BP's contractors are not moving as effectively as they need to, it's the power of the fed gov to redirect those resources.

We don't have to reconfigure the setup in the Gulf. We have to make the decisions about how things impact economy, ecology, etc.

If the folks in the Gulf aren't satisfied with something that's happening, they need to let us know and we'll deal with BP. Even if we have a perfect organizational structure, spots are going to be missed, there will be damage we won't foresee, people lives are going to be impacted. Decisions are being made on the best expert advice that's available. BP isn't off doing whatever it wants and no one's watching the store. Our teams are authorized to direct BP and we've got the authority we need. We have to make sure we're exercising it effectively.

[Suzan]

And now he's talking about how oversight was exercised and why he called for a commission to analyze the entire process. We have to have confidence that we can prevent crisis like this from happening again.

Chip Reed, ABC: Was Elizabeth Birnbaum forced out? He also asked about the cozy relationship between fed gov and oil companies. Is it fair to blame Bush admin for that? Obama: WH knew about cozy relationship.

Obama says he takes responsbility for (sorry, missed the rest of this! My hands are giving out, lol). No evidence that corrupt practices took place under current admin's watch.

Obama just found about Birnbaum's resignation today and doesn't yet know the details.

[Suzan]

Question: Can BP be trusted with any of the information they're givinig us?

Obama: It's fair to say that BP wants this capped and to minimize the damage as much as they can because they're responsible for it and will be paying for it. It's fair to ask if BP is (telling the truth) about the extent of the damage. (He did not use these words. The language was much more PC.)

He mentions the original amount estimated as spilling into the ocean as being taken from satellites, although BP had a camera down there. The administration pushed BP to release more accurate numbers that only they had, but should have pushed them sooner.

[Suzan]

Helen Thomas: When are we getting out of Afghanistan? (LOL, okay her question was longer than this, but that's how she started.)

Obama's giving her a serious answer. I don't have the energy to type it, but he's attempting to convince her that the Taliban is a significant threat to us.

[Kelle]

The optics on this are terrible for Obama. At various points the three major cable channels (CNN, MSNBC & Fox) are all showing footage of spewing oil.

kel

[sojourner]

Thanks for the play by play.

[Suzan]

Now a question about Obama having asked for expanded drilling and whether he regrets it. He's saying domestic oil production is an important part on an overall energy strategy. He's also emphasizing a whole range of other clean energy strategies, but we can't transition to them right away. We're still several years and some technological breakthroughs away. Meanwhile, we need to continue to use oil, so saying it will be part of our energy strategy.

Now he's talkinig about the ability to predict an oil spill, etc.

He's convinced that we have to do a thorough-going scrub of safety procedures and safety records. We have to have confidence that even it its a one in a million shot that we have the know-how to shut down a spill like this in two or three days.

Commission needs to discover whether this was a systemic breakdown, how likely oil spills are ... and what can be done about them.

He warns that extraction of oil is more expensive and inherently more risky because now we have to drill so far down to find it. society will have to make some serious determinations in terms of how much risk we're willing to accept.

[Suzan]

The optics on this are terrible for Obama. At various points the three major cable channels (CNN, MSNBC & Fox) are all showing footage of spewing oil.

kel
Really? I haven't seen any on ABC yet. I didn't try to change channels. I wanted to get the gist of the conference and the Q&A. Gist? Jist?

[Suzan]

Now, he's being questioned about the AZ law. I thought this was a press conference on the oil spill, but apparently not.

[Suzan]

Thanks for the play by play.
You're welcome. Believe me, I'm not close to getting everything, but I think I caught the highlights. And now that he's talking about AZ, I'm all typed out, lol.

[Kelle]

You're welcome. Believe me, I'm not close to getting everything, but I think I caught the highlights. And now that he's talking about AZ, I'm all typed out, lol.

It's good to see him answering toughs questions on a variety of issues.

I think they said it's been 300 days since he had a new conference like this. Does that number seem high?

kel

[Suzan]

It's good to see him answering toughs questions on a variety of issues.

I think they said it's been 300 days since he had a new conference like this. Does that number seem high?

kel
True, they don't seem to be sparing him.

I don't know if 300 days is a long time. Seems like it, but Bush had press conferences infrequently. I can remember complaints about that, but I don't know what the norm might be.

[Kelle]

Major Garrett (sp?):

1) how do you feel about your admin characterizing your boot being on the neck of BP.

2) a two part question about Sestak

Obama:

Assures him that nothing improper happened with respect to Sestak.

Didn't quite catch the whole BP answer but he said something to the effect that the metaphor isn't important .

Closing thought, wakes up thinking about this and goes to bed thinking about it. Describes his daughter asking him while he's shaving "Daddy, did you close the hole yet?".

"I take responsibility ... " to make sure the proper steps are taken to stop the gushing oil.

kel

[Suzan]

Just found this:

Obama trails recent presidents in taking questions from the press

It’s been 10 months since President Barack Obama last ventured into the East Wing of the White House to take questions from the press, which he’ll do today at 11:45 a.m. St. Louis time.

PoliticsDaily.com’s Lynn Sweet says that gap between press conferences reflects that “taking questions from a podium from an assortment of reporters is not a communications format the White House message team favors.”

Sweet cites numbers from Towson University Professor Martha Joynt Kumar, a specialist in presidential communication and the media who tracks how often presidents engage with the press. Sweet quotes Kumar as saying that Obama prefers “speaking in depth on a topic, on a particular issue. His interest is in doing [in-depth] interviews.”

According to Kumar, here’s how Obama stacks up with recent presidents in terms of solo press conferences (just the president and reporters), joint press conferences (the president and someone else) and answering shouted questions by a pool reporter in or out of the White House:

Barack Obama – Solo (13) Joint (19) Shouted (56)
George W. Bush – Solo (5) Joint (25) Shouted (186)
Bill Clinton – Solo (18) Joint (39) Shouted (332)
George H.W. Bush – Solo (35) Joint (12) Shouted (78)

http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-editors-desk/the-editors-desk/2010/05/obama-trails-recent-presidents-in-taking-questions-from-the-press/

[Suzan]

Major Garrett (sp?):

1) how do you feel about your admin characterizing your boot being on the neck of BP.

2) a two part question about Sestak

Obama:

Assures him that nothing improper happened with respect to Sestak.

Didn't quite catch the whole BP answer but he said something to the effect that the metaphor isn't important .

Closing thought, wakes up thinking about this and goes to bed thinking about it. Describes his daughter asking him while he's shaving "Daddy, did you close the hole yet?".

"I take responsibility ... " to make sure the proper steps are taken to stop the gushing oil.

kel
Thank you, kel!

[Kelle]

If this drags on much longer I picture a revised Obama logo in yellow and green conflated with a BP logo in lieu of a rising sun.

kel

[Suzan]

Thank you, kel!
George S and Jake Tapper are saying that it strains credulity that the president didn't know the details of Elizabeth Birnbaum's firing, but perhaps he (Obama) didn't want to discuss it. Tapper used the word "firing."

The media definitely seems to believe she was fired. They're saying she's been the subject of criticism and speculation for some time.

George is saying Obama will have a statement out soon about the question of whether Sestak was offered a job by the admin to leave the PA Senate race.

[Suzan]

If this drags on much longer I picture a revised Obama logo in yellow and green conflated with a BP logo in lieu of a rising sun.

kel
LOL, BP might like that. Then again, maybe not.

[Kelle]

Watching CNN's post news conference jibber jabber. I didn't quite catch everything she said but Candy Crowley seemed to make the point that claiming responsibility and claiming that he's fully engaged might not give Obama much "man of action" credibility here since the perception is that not much is getting done.

kel

[Kelle]

Obama trails recent presidents in taking questions from the press

It’s been 10 months since President Barack Obama last ventured into the East Wing of the White House to take questions from the press, which he’ll do today at 11:45 a.m. St. Louis time.

So 300 days is about right. How long ago did this oil blow out take place? About 25 days or so? So he's spent about 10% of his news conference boycott avoiding tough questions on the gulf catastrophe.

kel

[Suzan]

It can't be good for Obama to be stuck in between BP and the public and essentially responsible for everything BP does or doesn't do, but I do believe BP wants to get the hole plugged. Anyone think they have any reason not to? Politics being so Machievellian?

[Suzan]

So 300 days is about right. How long ago did this oil blow out take place? About 25 days or so? So he's spent about 10% of his news conference boycott avoiding tough questions on the gulf catastrophe.

kel
I didn't see him avoiding any questions and the press didn't seem to be sparing him.

[Spang]

I can remember when people were bitching about Obama having too many press conferences. He once had a press conference before he was inaugurated and there was so much outrage over it.

[Brooke]

I just updated my FB status with this:

"Thank you, President Obama for continuing to stand by your offshore drilling decision despite what's happened because right now it's the right thing. Enjoy your holiday weekend in Chicago and watching your Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup. With all due respect, I'm hoping they lose"

:D

[sojourner]

It can't be good for Obama to be stuck in between BP and the public and essentially responsible for everything BP does or doesn't do, but I do believe BP wants to get the hole plugged. Anyone think they have any reason not to? Politics being so Machievellian?

BP has every reason to plug the hole. Those campaigning against big oil and fossil fuels I am not so sure about.

[Kelle]

It can't be good for Obama to be stuck in between BP and the public and essentially responsible for everything BP does or doesn't do, but I do believe BP wants to get the hole plugged. Anyone think they have any reason not to? Politics being so Machievellian?

I completely agree that BP wants to plug the hole. However, Obama drastically overstated that when he said they want it as much as anyone else. I think those that rely on the gulf for their livelihood want it exponentially more.

And while the hyperbole is understandable, in my mind it underscores the government's apparent reliance on enlightened self interest on the part of the industry. If what we are hearing about oil companies filling out inspections in pencil, for inspectors to finalize in ink, is accurate then you could make the argument that the oil companies were effectively policing themselves.

kel

[Foggy]

If this drags on much longer I picture a revised Obama logo in yellow and green conflated with a BP logo in lieu of a rising sun.Yeah.

Clearly he's in bed with the oil company. And as we've all seen, calling him "Hitler" and "Stalin" hasn't worked out so good.

I think it's time to start calling him "Cheney". :D

[Kelle]

I can remember when people were bitching about Obama having too many press conferences. He once had a press conference before he was inaugurated and there was so much outrage over it.

I remember epic overexposure, (including a world tour featuring a beer fest in Germany) I suppose news conferences might have played a role in that but I'm not sure that's the outlet he should have curtailed most sharply. Given his campaign promises of transparency, accountability, etc. skipping the news conferences creates a perception problem.

kel

[Foggy]

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee232/foghorn_leghorn_photos/emoticons/eusa_boohoo.gif

[Suzan]

I can remember when people were bitching about Obama having too many press conferences. He once had a press conference before he was inaugurated and there was so much outrage over it.
LOL, you're right.

[Spang]

"For those keeping score: today's was Pres. Obama's longest WH news conference. 63 mins. Previous: 59, 56, 56, 54, 53, 35 mins)" - @MarkKnoller

[Tybee]

Oil went up over $3.00 a barrel while Obama spoke. /cheers I'm sure most of you remember how the stock market always did the same thing while he talked.

[Tybee]

FYI, those 1200 troops to the border are going to be paper pushers, not for illegal aliens sneaking in.

[RE:]

Now a question about Obama having asked for expanded drilling and whether he regrets it. He's saying domestic oil production is an important part on an overall energy strategy. He's also emphasizing a whole range of other clean energy strategies, but we can't transition to them right away. We're still several years and some technological breakthroughs away. Meanwhile, we need to continue to use oil, so saying it will be part of our energy strategy.

I'm a little bit confused....he said the above but he also brought up that he was against the 'drill baby drill' idea. How else are we to get the oil out for interim consumption/use? I'm kind of tired of the tit for tat between he and Palin. You know she's going to make a comment about his choice of words and bring up the 'hopey changey' wording again. It's never ending and very immature by both.

What he said about the boot on the neck...he actually said that kind of language should not be used and said they need to take it up with Salazaar as he defended him by saying that Salazaar 'has been angry, frustrated and sometimes emotional'.

[Tybee]

A Dem. senator from Alaska was pretty ticked off on Fox a few minutes ago about not drilling in Alaska. Totally different drilling on land. Gonna cost a lot of jobs there. Another guy said get ready for $5 a gallon gas.

[Brooke]

A Dem. senator from Alaska was pretty ticked off on Fox a few minutes ago about not drilling in Alaska. Totally different drilling on land. Gonna cost a lot of jobs there. Another guy said get ready for $5 a gallon gas.

LOL. Right. That's why I just heard that gas prices are going down.

[foxyladi]

count on Helen T. to ask the tough questions

[Tybee]

LOL. Right. That's why I just heard that gas prices are going down.

It's going to go up. http://www.wtrg.com/daily/crudeoilprice.html

[sojourner]

A Dem. senator from Alaska was pretty ticked off on Fox a few minutes ago about not drilling in Alaska. Totally different drilling on land. Gonna cost a lot of jobs there. Another guy said get ready for $5 a gallon gas. The whole idea of cap-and-tax and other anti-fossil fuel programs is not a concern about global warming but to drive the cost of fossil fuels up so the alternate energy sources can be competitive.

[Brooke]

It's going to go up. http://www.wtrg.com/daily/crudeoilprice.html

Well eventually but I just heard the experts just yesterday say it was going down.

[Spang]

This is unrelated but funny:

Welcoming Sandy Koufax to the WH just now: Pres Obama says they have something in common: "He can't pitch on Yom Kippur. And I can't pitch."

[Suzan]

OP from Foxyladi's deleted duplicate thread:

President Obama's East Room press conference on Thursday is a relatively rare occurrence in his presidency. Obama called the daytime event -- at 12:45 p.m. Eastern time -- as the crisis over the BP oil spill is deepening.

President Obama said Thursday he is "angry and frustrated" about the slow pace of capping the BP oil spill and that his administration is "singularly focused" on stopping the underwater gusher.

"My job is to get this fixed. And in case anybody wonders -- in any of your reporting, in case you're wondering who's responsible, I take responsibility. It is my job to make sure that everything is done to shut this down," Obama said during a press conference.

Obama said he did not know if the Department of Interior official overseeing the catastrophe who left the job on Thursday was fired or allowed to resign. Asked about the departure of Elizabeth Birnbaum as director of the Minerals Management Service, Obama said, "I don't know the circumstances in which this occurred."

The press conference -- a 63 minute session where Obama took questions from 10 journalists -- was called to show that the Obama White House is on top of the disaster in the Gulf. His administration faces critics from both sides of the aisle because of the inability to cap the leak and stop the oil spread. But Obama defended his administration's actions, saying his team is not "sitting on the sidelines."

Read the rest here (http://www.politicsdaily.com/categor...th-lynn-sweet/)

[foxyladi]

OP from Foxyladi's deleted duplicate thread:



Read the rest here (http://www.politicsdaily.com/categor...th-lynn-sweet/)

thanks Suzan@};-@};-

[Suzan]

thanks Suzan@};-@};-
You're welcome!

[Spang]

The whole damn thing...

[Suzan]

The whole damn thing... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rT7IANtSjo)
Cool! Thank you.

[Valin]

http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/052710.jpg


=D>

[foxyladi]

http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/052710.jpg


=D>

dense:D inert and BIG:rotfl:

[Valin]

Amspec (http://spectator.org/blog/2010/05/28/hay-could-it-work)

This has been around the Web for a couple of weeks -- is it a legitimate cleanup solution for the Gulf?

Hay! Could It Work?