Oil Spill Response

Over the last month I've been hearing from the Republican Party "the Federal Government needs to do something about the oil spill in the Gulf." I worked for NOAA (the agency that is managing the government's clean up/response and managing the fisheries) and can tell you I see they've been doing a tremendous job on-site.
It's very easy to blame everyone, especially to blame the President- but the blame doesn't lie with President Obama, it lies with oil companies, Congress, lobbyists, and Federal Agencies for issuing permits too easily.
Louisiana's GOP Governor Bobby Jindel just told CBS News tonight (5/31) that "This is the Federal Government's spill and they have to clean it up." WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. To that fool of a governor I say - This is not a "democrat vs. republican oil spill" you ass. This is a BP Oil Company spill. BP is in charge of cleaning it up. NOAA and other federal agencies are doing a lot to help clean up the oil. In fact, most of the oil has NOT beached, and given the fact it's supposedly larger than the Exxon Valdez in 1989, that means they're doing a FANTASTIC job of keeping it off the beaches, AND they're saving marine birds and sea life as much as possible.
Oil clean up is an area that BP and other oil companies SHOULD have been more knowledgeable before drilling. PERIOD. Part of it is the Federal Government's fault for issuing a permit (and the head of the Minerals Management Agency stepped down). According to the NY Times, "the Minerals Management Service let BP and “dozens of other oil companies” drill in the Gulf without getting proper permits from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as it is required to do by law. The answer is simple: It’s everyone’s fault. It’s the industry’s fault for overzealous drilling and lazy safety, it’s the fault of Congress for refusing to engage in real oversight when companies with big lobbying budgets are involved, and it’s the fault of regulatory agencies for being too close to the businesses they are meant to oversee."
Is this the President's Fault? NO. Was Exxon Valdez President George H.R. Bush's fault? NO. Did they fault him? NO. So, to the Republican Party- and the fool who said from the GOP tonight that "the Obama Administration needs to report out every hour" I say: Stop acting like idiots. Everyone is working together. NOAA provides DAILY UPDATES on this site: http://www.incidentnews.gov/. In fact, the GOP can "Subscribe to the NOAA Incident newsfeed (Atom or RSS) for updates on new incidents as they happen." Now... it's time for everyone to help out. Disasters are usually good at bringing people together. Hopefully, this one eventually will do that.