What should President Obama do about the oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico?  

Thanks, nonersays! There really may NOT be anything President Obama can do, but he had better not leave any stone unturned or his presidency will end up in shambles, just like the Gulf Coast and perhaps, the Caribbean and places beyond. (By the way, I got the name of the sunken rig wrong, it was the DEEP WATER HORIZON.) Some people think a nuclear weapon could fix the problem, but I don't think so. Some oil might be burned off in the explosion, but what's left would presumably become radioactive, and the explosion might make the hole larger instead of sealing it. So, let's all THINK! Does ANYONE have an idea that might work? Might the Department of Defense, especially the Navy, be consulted? Is there any way that the outbreak might be FROZEN shut?

You may be right, but I think at this point BP has a major credibility problem. They have seemingly downplayed the seriousness of the accident and failed to fix it so far. The damages seem likely to exceed anything they will be able to pay, however large and powerful they may be. I don't know how much insurance they have, but you may be sure that the insurance companies will be looking for an excuse not to pay off.

If the situation continues too much longer, the pressure on President Obama to "do something" will surely become irresistible. Only he will be seen as having the ability to marshal sufficient resources to solve the problem. No, he's not in control of EVERYTHING, but in the real world of politics he is likely to take a beating in the polls if he isn't seen as having done absolutely everything he can.

Thanks for your replies, peavey and tinym8! I'm only hoping that something can finally be done to contain this environmental nightmare. We'll have to live for decades with the effects. Maybe President Obama can offer resources to BP to help get the job done, and send them the bill. As sometimes happens, the cost of inaction is potentially so great that the problem must be fixed--if possible--no matter what it takes.

"failing to fix it" and not trying to fix it are two different things. Obama's "sufficient resources" is our money and BP is pouring money into this. Money cannot fix everything. This is taking creativity and persistence. Because no one has an instant fix is no reason to lay it on the shoulders of Obama, who doesn't have an instant fix either.

I know this is horrible and nature, people and the economy will suffer because of it, but there are no magic fixes, even from the president.

The President is responsible for national security. The fact that that oil spill was accidental and not caused by a foreign enemy is immaterial. It is as serious a threat to the security of the United States as was the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor or the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter. I am confident that President will show his leadership qualities in this matter. If he can't stop the leak, he can at least lead the fight to defend the coastline and get the cleanup underway. I just heard on TV that he is sending his cabinet members to the scene. That's a good start. Keep watching!

Please explain to me why the oil is a threat to national security. Economy, I can see. Environment, I can see, but security? I don't understand.

The oil is poisonous and flammable. If there is too much of it around the Louisiana Offshore Oil Platform, foreign oil shipments to the U.S. will be be curtailed for fear of accidentally touching off an inferno. (A vessel full of flammable oil riding in a sea topped with flammable oil, unloading its cargo into a facility full of flammable oil--it's too risky.) For similar reasons, refineries along the Gulf Coast may be forced to shut down. A sudden oil shortage could lead to social unrest as cars queue up at filling stations and prices skyrocket. Beyond that, a major hit to the U.S. economy and on the livelihoods and lifestyles of millions of people along the Gulf Coast is a threat to national security just as much as if some enemy had dropped bombs all along that coast. Lastly, the kill-off of vegetation along the Gulf Coast could speed the erosion of land there, making New Orleans and southern Louisiana more vulnerable to hurricanes than they already are. What hurts a major region of a country hurts the country as a whole. Civilizations can collapse for economic reasons as well as from physical destruction.

Thanks for your explanation. I'm not sure I agree with your reasoning, but I appreciate you taking the time to explain.

I found a great link where BP is explaining its strategy to plug the leak. It's at htpps://bp.concerts.com/gom/kentwells_update24052010.htm. I no longer have any doubt that BP is making an all-out effort. This still begs the question of whether they shouldn't have had all this equipment more immediately available. And my son has determined for sure that on several occasions they have been looping the video feed from the sea floor to hide what is currently going on. My son saw enough to be convinced, though, that something major went wrong on Sunday or thereabouts, and that the situation seems to have become worse. I am sure, too, that BP has been deliberately understating the magnitude of the problem and flimflamming the government and the public. As I expected, President Obama will be heading for the area at the end of the week, as he should. Perhaps only the oilmen have the technical savvy to plug the leak, but the government is tasked with responding to disasters. The governor of Louisiana, as I recall, wanted immediate action to put up a sand berm to protect the coastline, and ran into opposition--or at least non-cooperation--from the federal government. The President must at least make sure that all agencies act out of a sense of urgency and do not prevent decisive action by throwing up barriers of red tape.

BP's reputation has already suffered from their understatements concerning the amount of oil pouring into the Gulf. Was it simple incompetence or were they deliberately lying? President Obama will be on the scene tomorrow. I don't think all options have been tried, as evidenced by his press conference today. Especially, the idea of bringing in a fleet of tankers to sip up the oil from underwater seems to have fallen on deaf ears. But keep tuned!

He better do something quick. The world might be in love with him, just because he's America's first black president, but people aren't going to forget how he handled this situation.

I agree! This is the ultimate test of his leadership so far, and I'm skeptical of how things have been going. Mrs. O'Leary and her cow might have been the "responsible parties" in the great Chicago fire, but only a fool would have expected them to put it out. Similarly, BP has set off something it cannot control. President Obama can rightfully expect them to get the leak plugged, but he cannot wait for them to control the damage--a great part of which is irreversible. I did hear that he has ordered the tripling of the workforce involved in coastal protection and cleanup. That sounds like a good start, but will even that be enough?

I think you are being facetious, but your answer underscores the difficulty of mending this situation. MANAGING this catastrophe--it is too big a problem to be SOLVED--will be such a tremendous task that it will seem almost as difficult as draining the Gulf of Mexico.

Yes I was being facetious. You can't drain the Gulf of Mexico. That's impossible. But the president can't really do anything. BP is in charge of doing something and they better do something FAST!

So the "top kill" operation failed! I wonder whether it had much chance of succeeding anyway. As for the other plans to stop the flow, they sound like desperation measures too. Even the "relief wells" are not likely to cure the situation altogether. We are being kept in a fog as to whether there might be additional leaks that BP has not told us about. The information coming from the sea bottom is confusing, to say the least. BP will NEVER, NEVER be able to pay for all the damage it has caused. The oil will be washing ashore for decades.
What to do?