Oil Spill in the Gulf: Obama's Failure in Leadership

Contrary to negative stereotypes of conservatives, I am deeply moved to conserve natural resources; I hate the sight of broken sprinklers pouring water into the streets.  I am also deeply moved to conserve financial resources; I hate paying $4 a gallon for gas.  As a result, when I check CNN every day at work and see headlines on the amount of oil has spilled out into the Gulf of Mexico, I become livid.  Current estimates note that 60,000 barrels of oil are gushing out into the ocean each day.

There is a lot of blame to go around.  We can start with BP and the oil companies for not having effective contingency plans to deal with such disasters.  We can blame the federal agency responsible to overseeing off-shore drilling and their culture of corruption that allowed oil companies to get away with shoddy safety protocols.  However, in such disasters where inaction will exponentially lead to greater harm to our environment and our economy, the buck stops with the leader of our nation.

During Hurricane Katrina, I did not have a negative view of President Bush's initial reaction to the natural disaster.  Being a Republican, it was natural for me to be supportive of a Republican president.  However, as time progressed, and inaction was coupled with apparent incompetency, my favorable view of how President Bush was handling the situation diminished.  In trying to be fair, I have also withheld my criticism of President Obama.  Like President Bush, there was very little he could have done to forestall this disaster from happening.  Unfortunately, like President Bush, his inaction is showing more and more a lack of competency to handle such crises.

There have been many theories as to why President Obama has been slow to act.  They range from how Obama is using this disaster to push through his controversial environmental agenda to the federal government not having the resources and expertise to deal with such a crisis.  However, one plausible reason, as reported by CNN, is that Obama is waiting because any federal interdiction in the clean-up of the oil spill or the capping of the broken well will mean that BP will not be financially responsible for any additional damage caused by the spill.  Translated, Obama wants BP to pay for the full expense of the oil clean-up, including loss of livelihood payments to fishermen and others affected by the spill.  That sounds reasonable, with the glaring exception that by doing nothing, Obama is multiplying the effects of the oil spill. 

Cleaning up one Exxon-Valdez type spill is difficult.  Cleaning up three or four or ten Exxon-Valdez type spills is almost impossible.  Instead of containing the damage to the area around Louisiana and Mississippi, by allowing the spill to continue, Obama is allowing the environmental and economic effects of this disaster spill into the remaining gulf states and beyond; ocean currents may carry the oil to as far as Europe.  Why is the Coast Guard not more intimately involved?  For that matter, why is the Navy not brought in and other oil companies not encouraged to collaboratively brainstorm solutions?  Allowing James Cameron and Kevin Costner to come up individually and offer possible solutions is good.  However, in dealing with such a large disaster, why would you not call on the military and other oil companies (who have experience in dealing with such matters) to help resolve this crisis?

It is easy to blame Republicans and President Bush for their ties to the oil industry.  However, neither of them are in charge of the federal government.  President Obama is.  Do something, aside from holding press conferences saying that you'll do something.  Lead or resign and let something who is willing to try something lead in your stead.

How I proposed to Bryanne

2010 Pasadena Marathon Moment by Moment Blog

T-4 or 5 months:  received an email from the organizers of the Pasadena Marathon to pre-register at a cheaper price.  Figured I would do the bike tour; signed up then and there.  Cheaper = better.

T-1 week:  received a self-reminder (courtesy of Google Calendar) to pick up the bib.  For some reason, I couldn't get into the website.  Since I had tons of work, I ignored the reminder.

T-3 days:  Patrick emailed me and asked if I were going.  At this point, I totally forgot that I pre-registered.  Went to the website and made sure I was registered.  Went to Bree's house and borrowed a wind breaker.

T-2 days:  I went to LA Fitness to "train" on their bikes.  This is my first bike "training" in 5 months.  Oh yeah, the training lasted 20 minutes.

T-1 day:  Went to the Pasadena Convention Center with Bree to pick up the bib and some free swag.  Saw a sign saying roads will be closed starting at 6 AM (this will be important to remember later on).

Night before the race:  Cleaned/filled bike water bottles; put them, my helmet, bike pump, etc. in my car.  Prepped all of my clothes.  Set my alarm for 5 AM; set my cell phone alarm for 5:10 AM.  Started going to sleep at around 10 PM.  Had a protein bar and banana before sleeping; potassium in the banana helps prevent cramping.

Day of the Race (all times are approximate)

5 AM:  turned off alarm.

5:10 AM:  turned off cell phone alarm

5:15-5:30 AM:  Got ready:  put on long sleeve T-shirt, long sleeve soccer jersey (Go Chelsea!), PrescriptionSolutions company bike jersey (with three water bottle pockets in back).  Put on biking shorts and sweatpants (I'll take off the sweatpants prior to the tour).  Put bike in the car.

5:30 AM:  And we're off...to PCC.

5:45 AM:  Found out the hard way that the roads were closed earlier than 6 AM (I was on Los Robles almost to California)

5:45-5:55 AM:  Drove around South Pasadena and San Marino looking for a way around the road barriers.  Made me want to get an iPhone and install a navigation app.

5:55 AM:  Got back on Huntington.

6 AM:  Finally got to PCC after waiting in the wrong car line...runners....

6-6:15 AM:  Got my bike ready; lent my pump to the guy parked next to me.  He had a hand pump; I brought my foot pump.

6:16 AM:  Saw the peleton coming towards me...began my desperate search to go over the barrier and start the tour.

6:20 AM:  Finally got past all of the crowd...almost entirely runners and started the tour.

Henceforth, I will be referring to miles progressed (approximate miles)

Mile 0.1:  Wow, I'm going really slowly.  Talk about being out of biking shape.

Mile 0.2:  Noticed some Asian dude with a tandem bike.  He was by himself.  He will be my pacer.  It doesn't feel cold.  Either Bree's windbreaker is doing an amazing job or I am overdressed.  Began reminiscing about last year's race and how it rained a lot.  There's a bit of sprinkling...but not much.  God sure does have a sense of humor.

Mile 3:  Remembered how heavily it rained at this point last year; people were huddled under building awnings and ledges.  I am a man; I did no such thing...and got sick.

Mile 4:  Getting warmer and no more rain.  Started to think about taking the windbreaker off.

Mile 7:  Look!  We're heading close to the Rose Bowl...and it's really foggy.  I'm glad I have Bree's windbreaker...and did not take it off.

Mile 8:  Waiting for the hill of death. Last year they made us go up a little hill (only to go right back down again). The incline of that hill was ridiculous; killed me last year. 

Mile 9:  No hill.  I downshifted in expectation and got nothing.  Anyhoo, still riding.

Mile 10:  Water break; took off the windbreaker and wrapped it around the bike.

Mile 10.1:  Realized how big of a difference the windbreaker made.  It's COLD!  I also began to realize that I am NOT a hill rider.  I love flats and declines (I go to 2 and 3 on the big gears during those times).

Mile 12:  Hmm, I see no runners.  Where are they?  At this point last year, the super fast runners had begun to pass us.  It's strange because I started after the peleton.

Mile 14:  There's a hill leaving the Rose Bowl and heading towards the 210 North.  It's killer.  1 and 1 on my gear box.

Mile 15:  Heading into the Black area of Pasadena.  It looks nice.  There's a congregation starting service at a Methodist church.  Lots of Hispanics too.  Saw a little kid huffing and puffing.

Mile 16:  Realized they changed the course significantly.  A lot of the hills I was expecting are not there...it definitely was not as bad as last year.  Hmm, I think I have to pee.

Mile 17:  Saw the half marathon runners.  Our courses merge for a bit.

Mile 18:  Started to rain again...heavier this time.  Took a Powerade break and put the windbreaker back on.  The heavier rain made it from "God has a sense of humor, ha ha" to "I'm laughing through the despair".

Mile 19 (refer to Mile 16):  Spoke too soon.  Where do they come up with these roads?  They just keep going up!  We're in the northern borderlands of Pasadena now.  I had been going ahead and behind my pacer (Asian dude in the tandem bike) for much of the race.  This will be last time I see him.

Mile 20:  The kid (see Mile 15) is still huffing and puffing.  He was my pacer going up the hill.  Man, I really need to pee.

Mile 21:  Came back together with the half marathoners.  Man, those guys sure hog up the road!  It's road etiquette to move to the side when someone says they are to your left or right.  Nope, not these runners...just like last year when they ran onto the bike side of the course.

Mile 22:  Very typical of this hill-favored race:  last 4+ miles will be a steady incline.

Mile 23:  Sang the Georgetown Fight Song to keep me going...I even included the "rebound" portion.

Mile 24:  Kept saying, "God is good; Finish Well!  God is good; Finish Well!"

Mile 25:  Targetting bikers in front of me to keep my pace.  Since it's a tour and not a race, it doesn't matter the order you finish in.  However, I was taken back to what Robin Williams said in Dead Poets Society:  (to paraphrase) competition is about having another human being pushing you to be better than you are.  I'm tired but I need...to...beat...them....

Mile 26.whatever:  Done!!!  Now to find my car.  Man, my whole body is wet and I still haven't pee'd yet!  More next year!

Time to grow up (how to find a good man to marry)

Cheaper XBOX 360s