Leaders FIX Crises, they don't take advantage of them!

I'm sure we remember these words:



Americans should have seen what was coming when Obama chose Rahm as his Chief of Staff. It is very unfortunate those words are coming true. Chris Matthews gets thrills up his leg, I get chills up my spine! The chills have been happening since January 2009, but have been occurring more frequently since the oil leak started in the Gulf of Mexico.

When an environmental disaster such as this occurs, leadership skills are needed. A good leader will roll up their sleeves, seek out the advice of experts, those local to the disaster, as well as the responsible parties to work together to end the problem. We can save the blame and gutter-sniping for the time after the crisis has ended. Just over 60 days later, the gusher is still flowing. Grant it, we haven't had an oil rig blow up in mile-deep water (We could also ask the government why were drilling all the way out there and not in safer places, but I digress), so I could understand how it could be difficult to stop the flow. Second thing to do is to make sure that oil does not reach the shore. Below are steps that could have been taken, but weren't:

- The use of Skimmers: They were refused.
- The use of booms: They didn't have them ready.
- The Construction of a sand berm: Finally OKed on June 11.
- Barges to vacuum the oil: Stopped by the Coast guard
- Foreign Assistance: Refused because the president does not suspend the protectionist Jones Act.

Had those steps been taken, the Southeast would not have been held hostage waiting for the slick to come on shore. Instead, we have seen the slick, as well as tar balls, appear on the Gulf Coast between Louisiana and Pensacola. We have heard the president, like a petulant child, claim he can't suck it up with a straw and that he's got to look for "ass to kick."

And even worse, we have seen the president follow Rahm Emanuel's words and begin to push his environmental agenda as a result of the spill. His declaration of a moratorium on offshore drilling is a knee-jerk reaction that will kill jobs (jobs that won't come back) and force a raised reliance on foreign oil. If Obama really wants to prevent this from happening again, he needs to expand drilling, however, do it in safer waters, and on land; specifically ANWR and the Rockies to extract shale. Not only will this move the drilling out of deep water areas and lower the risk of an environmental disaster, but this will lower prices, as a result of a greater supply.

Other countries are not joining in on this ban and they know if they joined in, supply would lower, demand would rise and prices would go up. Thankfully, gas prices haven't significantly risen, in light of the events in the Gulf. But we must still be concerned as Obama is going to begin to re-sell the Cap and Trade Legislation, which if passed, could produce $7/gallon gas, and that should scare the living daylights out of every American!

Americans are not stupid. They know what goes on in this great country and thankfully, in 2010, can get information at the snap of a finger, thanks to the Internet. So when a poll comes out that states George W. Bush was a better leader in crisis in the Gulf than Obama, I am not one bit surprised. Steps were taken by the Federal Government that Obama has refused to take and in taking those steps, George W. Bush showed leadership at work. Again, Americans will react to this and I believe we will see this reaction play out in the Midterm Elections this November.