Palin to Obama: Call Me

Executive Experience: A Good Idea?

In a new facebook post, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) channels public sentiment and attacks President Obama for neglecting the situation in the Gulf of Mexico. In her fiery and satirical salvo, Palin expounds upon a perceived neglect for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill by sighting Obama's lack of contact with oil experts as well as his failure to reach out to those people who have fought 'Big Oil' before. In close she references the people who lived through the Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill, and says, "They can help you. Give them a call. Or what the heck, give me a call," and what a phone call that would be.

What Response?

Recently President Barack Obama released a statement that basically said he is waiting to meet with high profile oil experts and officials until he knows just "whose ass to kick." But as public sentiment shows, the voters do not feel that he is doing enough. After Hurricane Katrina, polls showed the 62% of the nation had an unfavorable view of President Bush's response to the disaster. Recent polls however have shown that 69% of the American public feels that President Obama has also failed to respond adequately to the Gulf Oil Spill. If this is not public affirmation that this is Obama's Katrina, I do not know what is. The public truly feels that the Obama Administration has failed in its response worse than the Bush Team did.

This has not escaped the keen eyes of Sarah Palin and she lashes out very strongly in her new facebook oped piece. She begs the President to get into contact with oil experts and oil executives like BP CEO Tony Hayward, and I have to say, on this she may have a point. After learning about the disaster, as President my very first phone call would have been to the people coordinating the relief effort and my second phone call would have been to the CEO of the company responsible, in this case Tiny Hayward. Congress was mad when the three companies who have a share in the well passed the buck in a round robin fashion, yet it seems by not actually facing Hayward, he is just facilitating this action.

Her second most though provoking point, is that she questions why President Obama has not contacted the experts and workers who managed the Exxon-Valdez video, previously the largest oil spill in US history. She points out, and accurately so, that these people have dealt with this before. They learned first hand what works and what doesn't. She is simply asking, why haven't you asked them yet? To make those phone calls even easier, she has provided a list of names for people whose integrity she vouches for. To me this seems a simple no-brainer, so again, the point goes to Palin.

The last point she discusses in this piece is that she wants Obama to contact people who have a history of taking on Big Oil and Big Business, and winning. She provides a list of people from her days as the head of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Comission, where she took on corruption and monopolization of oil fields by rich oil companies and forcing their hands to begin operations. She tells him to get in touch with these people, or even herself, and ask for their help. To me her main point is that to ask for help is OK.

Previously I have written that one must not blame Obama for this disaster and I still stay behind this. Our government has no oil experts and therefore one must look outside our government for help. However, that is something the government itself should have learned. One can criticize Obama for his lack of taking steps that one would think would be reactionary (like calling Tony Hayward). It would also seem obvious that one should seek out those who have dealt with a similar situation. These are things he should have done, and for that he can receive both mine and Mrs. Palin's criticism.

Later,
Cody

(Photo: Courtesy of Reuters)