Sounding reflective as he heads into a bruising electoral season, President Barack Obama told Politico columnist Roger Simon that the Gulf disaster “echoes 9/11” because it will change the nation’s psyche for years to come.Obama – facing mounting criticism of his handling of the BP gusher, even from longtime allies – vowed to make a “bold” push for a new energy law even as the calamity continues to unfold. And he said he will use the rest of his presidency to try to put the United States on a course toward a “new way of doing business when it comes to energy.”
“In the same way that our view of our vulnerabilities and our foreign policy was shaped profoundly by 9/11,” the president said in an Oval Office interview on Friday, “I think this disaster is going to shape how we think about the environment and energy for many years to come.”
Previewing his message for the midterm congressional elections in November, the president said: “[T]he Democrats in Congress have taken tougher votes, have worked harder under more stressful circumstances, than just about any Congress in our memory. And they’ve done a great job and deserve reelection.”
“So I’m going to be fighting on their behalf and doing everything I can and using my bully pulpit to communicate that fact to the American people,” he said. “I know there’s an anti-incumbent mood out there right now because … people are frustrated about the hit that the economy has taken. … But what I’m going to remind people of is we didn’t create this mess. And this Congress responded forcefully at a time when this economy really could have fallen off a cliff.”
Historic patterns and the current political climate all but guarantee that both the House and Senate will lose Democrats in the election, and administration officials concede the Republicans have a chance of winning control of the House.
Obama acknowledged that the results will help determine the course of his term’s second half. “I am spending some time thinking about 2010 because, obviously, my ability to get things done on behalf of the American people depends on a Congress that is willing to cooperate,” he said.
In his firmest declaration yet that he views the calamity as an impetus to push Congress afresh to pass a major energy and climate bill, Obama vowed to “move forward in a bold way in a direction that finally gives us the kind of future-oriented, … visionary energy policy that we so vitally need and has been absent for so long..”
“One of the biggest leadership challenges for me going forward is going to be to make sure that we draw the right lessons from this disaster,” he said.
{Politico/Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}
It has nothing to do with 9/11. it simply calls for a few rules to be put in place which all the oil compnaies would be happy to accept now that they see what it can cost them. Of course with his foolishness he may just call out the army to attack all the oil companies and maybe wall street, the banks and auto companies. After all, we need them to create jobs in America.
We have become complacent, thinking that democracy and government will somehow save us from danger. We need instead to strengthen our tefilos and be cognizant that the White house has no friend for us living there no matter what he says.
Obama reminds me of Efron Hachiti- he says a lot but does so little! (Amar harbei v’afilu me’at lo assah!)
Comparing the oil spill to 9/11, in which 3000 lives were snuffed out by Muslim criminals is a disgraceful & disrespectful move from a foreign thinking individual.
It goes with the rest of his Muslim pandering & allies bashing policies.
A shame we only have one term presidents.
We should consider 1/2 term ones.
Some compare the election of Obama to 9/11.
he is right
you people just dont realize how big this disaster is. if it were in the atlantic ocean by your fance homes by the lawrence water or in seagate you would understand