Obama and the Katrina Syndrome

Barack Obama had no part in the onset of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. All the same, it’s the most serious environmental disaster in the history of America and the President of the United States will not escape unscathed.

Yesterday, he visited the at-risk beaches for the third time since the April 20 explosion that cost the lives of 11 people on the British Petroleum drilling platform. His presence doesn’t help the efforts to clog the leak 0.7 miles deep, but it aims to show that the head of state cares about the magnitude of the disaster and mobilize what could help limit the impact of the pollution.

Six weeks of impotence have given ammunition to the opponents of the White House. They accuse the president of being slow to take stock of the disaster, lacking in severity toward BP, and not taking control of operations against the oil spill.

His trademark detachment has not served him well in these circumstances. Now, he needs to forget his “Mr. Cool” stance and express anger against officials who “didn’t think through the consequences of their actions”* and demonstrate compassion for the people who continue to suffer from the effects.

Even if the material and human toll is not comparable, the precedent of Katrina applies to everything. George W. Bush paid a heavy political price for his inaction when the 2005 hurricane devastated New Orleans. Obama wants to avoid the same pitfalls.

But, just as five years ago, Americans have trouble understanding that the government can be just as powerless and that technology cannot overcome the disaster. They expect their president to find a solution.

It will undoubtedly take months, if not years to clean up the beaches and dissolve the oil slick. With the approach of Congressional elections in November, the White House is vulnerable to any rise of discontent.

Obama’s energy policy, which was to allow heavy drilling in deep water in order to pass his climate bill, is the first victim. It is feared that the administration will be as paralyzed by the oil spill as they long were by the debate on health care reform.

* http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20006765-503544.html