The Barack Situation

Just some observations…

I want some of that Gulf Coast shrimp – it won’t stick to the pan!

The BP Situation is kind of like “The Bonnie Situation” segment in “Pulp Fiction.” The assassins, played by Travolta and Jackson, accidentally kill a guy in the backseat of the car (while waving a gun around), freak out, and drive to a friend’s. They call in The Expert in Handling Emergencies, “The Wolf,” played by Keitel, who says basically, “Okay, this is what we’re gonna do. You’re gonna clean it up.” And then, they clean it up. Or in this case, just plug the damn hole.

Seriously, if I was the POTUS…

Get some NASA scientists (space technology is usually the first to emerge, then it trickles down to other areas like ocean exploration and wilderness survival gear) and some Mensa eggheads in the same room. Throw in a couple of US drilling R&D types. Tell them they have 12 hours to get creative and produce three recommendations for BP. If one is successful, require BP to reward them with a nice monetary prize to split equally.

Yes, BP is required to drill in a difficult location under difficult circumstances, and it’s unbelievable there was no tested crisis plan in place. Rumors suggest greedy management killed people. All this so we can feed our addiction to oil and oil products like Wal-Mart bags. So many bad decisions piled on countless other bad decisions…stoopidity breeding more stoopidity.

Let us briefly run through some of those decisions:
1. Consumers make tiny bad decisions every day, when they buy and use plastic, certain beauty products and cleaning supplies, and drive their car. Multiply by millions.
2. We require oil companies to feed our addiction by drilling in places and situations on the very edge of our technological ability. Lawmakers make a lot of laws about this (wrong decisions?) influenced by special interest groups insisting that their decisions be implemented.
3. Oil company decides to fly with no Plan B!
4. Their management decides to not follow their own safety measures in order to meet quotas or benchmarks. Workers decide to go along with it. Workers die.
So many places we can assign blame. Let’s all own it.

So, no, it’s not Obama’s fault, but standing on the beach frowning isn’t going to get ‘er done, in this case. Be more than a figure head. Here’s the ingredients you need: Expertise, brainstorming, incentive, deadline. Take the lead, make it happen. Let’s see watcha got, Barry. You haven’t done anything in a month but whine. This is the kind of problem-opportunity that can define who you are.

What did that dude from Apollo 13 say? When he heard someone whine “oh, this could be the worst disaster NASA’s ever faced!” Gene Krantz replied “with all due respect, sir, I believe this is going to be our finest hour.” And it was. Real leadership…;^)