When it comes to the BP oil crisis, is Obama the victim of circumstances beyond his control – or is he partly to blame? Whatever the answer, according to Der Tagesspiegel columnist Malte Lehming, it would be tragic if the ‘drill-happy’ Republicans benefited from the biggest oil disaster in U.S. history.
From Der Tagesspiegel, Malte Lehming writes in part:
The oil disaster is threatening the American president’s political future. His equation failed to strike a balance and his hopes were disappointed – and pity doesn’t last for ever.
The man about whom it was said he could walk on water now has brown clumps stuck to the soles of his shoes. It’s true that he isn’t responsible for the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico which grows larger by the day. But this excuse has long since lost its validity. The president of the most powerful country in the world is expected to be able to deal with imponderables. If he can’t, then who can?
Jimmy Carter wasn’t responsible for the Iran hostage crisis and George Bush wasn’t to blame for Hurricane Katrina. Both men were nonetheless measured by how they managed these disasters. That’s neither presumptuous nor unfair, but part of the office. … The Democratic majority in Congress hangs in the balance. If the drill-happy Republicans benefit from the biggest oil disaster in U.S. history, tragedy will be added to the drama.
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