Well I don't know about you, but I am getting tired of this Gulf Oil well not being capped and not stopping the oil leaking into the gulf. I am also just sick watching those birds covered and barely breathing soaked in oil. Oh, and while I hate watching the oil leaking from those 24/7 robot cameras, I like being reminded what is going on here. I thought it was time for some reflection and dialogue on the subject and the leadership, or lack of it, that is responsible for getting this problem resolved.
Let me start with a question posed from the 2008 political campaigns between then candidates, John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. "Who would you like answering the phone at 3:00am in the White House when there was a crisis? I can tell you one thing, it wouldn't be BP's CEO Tony Hayward! Have you ever seen such incompetence from a company and a CEO? I haven't! But let's get back to the question and apply it to all three Presidential candidates.
There is no doubt now, from what we have learned about John McCain, that we would NOT call on him. McCain, the father of the phrase, "Drill Baby, Drill!" has offered nothing on this problem or any problem since then. The Republicans seem to take pride in the fact they don't offer solutions. They like just saying "No" to everything.
Hillary Clinton, I must admit, has surprised me as Secretary of State. She has done a fairly good job and has learned how to support someone who was her rival and do that with grace. Considering the hole we have been in on the International scene with 2 wars and people hating us all over the world from the Bush/Cheney arrogant leadership style, it is remarkable how she and President Obama have turned this around in such a short time. She is doing a good job and could help this problem if she were in charge as President.
President Obama caught all of our hearts with his Audacity of Hope theme during the election, but many of us who voted for him, wanted more audacity and less hope from him, since being elected. He seems to be playing it safe on every issue, from healthcare to financial reform and now to include the Gulf Oil spill cleanup. No one holds him responsible for the catastrophic explosion which occurred and killed those 11 workers. Nor do we hold him responsible to cap and stop the leak, as the government doesn't have the experts capable to jump in and take that role over. But now we do hold him responsible for ensuring the cleanup is done more swiftly and effectively by ordering and commanding the Oil giants to bring their armada of tools, expertise and people to bear on this cleanup. The fact that he has never really managed in business in a command and control manner, like, for example, Mayor Bloomberg has or Lee Iacocca, formerly CEO of Chrysler, or Jack Welsh, former CEO of GE, is a disadvantage for any President.
Look, don't think I want to bash President Obama, I don't. I do however think his advisors are failing him terribly. And what we need now is some national figure of stature with Command and Control experience to handle this mess for the President. I have one suggestion of the type of individual who could do this, General Norman Schwarzkopf. He has the military experience to handle a crisis and also that added benefit of coordinating with the Navy, since this will involve naval forces. After all we have the largest Navy in the world. And he has the respect of the American people from his service and leadership in the War in Iraq.
He would be perfect for this role and it would take the heat off of President Obama who has his hands full trying to improve jobs and the economy and working with Congress on Financial reform and Cap and Trade. Let's draft the General. Start by promoting his name and send an email to the White House suggesting he be called back from retirement to lead this effort.
And while he is at it, we need to mobilize the population there and across the country to help. We could find things to do with the kids out of school for the summer and offer benefits for college tuition for any who help on a sustained basis. We can do tis as Americans. It can be managed and while it will take a long time to clean up, there is no better time to start than now!
On a side note today: This is my 1300th Blog post since I started this Blog in May of 2005 and a fitting topic. What started me blogging was the fact I was so angry with President Bush and VP Cheney's lack of good leadership by nominating John Bolton for U.N Ambassador and the problems with the use of the Filibuster by Congress
Labels: command and control, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Gulf Oil cleanup, Gulf Oil spill, Hillary Clinton, Iraq war, John McCain, leadership, President Obama
