Opinion: Oval Office Address -- Obama Showed He's in Charge on Oil Spill

(June 15) -- President Barack Obama gave his first Oval Office address since becoming president, and he clearly and concisely explained what had been done, what is being done and what needs to be done to address the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Who among us would do a better job in such a crisis?

His critics predictably are crying that he's using a tragedy to promote his political agenda, an argument House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., made even before the speech. (Does anyone remember a little war that was started in Iraq to satisfy the neocon agenda after an American tragedy that had nothing to do with Iraq?)

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., sent out a rebuke of the address at 8:19 p.m., two minutes after the president finished talking, saying that what the president ought to be focusing on is capping the leak. Sarah Palin, on Fox News's "O'Reilly Factor," complained that the president didn't talk about how to "stop the gusher." But when asked what she would do to stop it, she came up snake eyes. Monica Crowley, my beloved sister-in-law and Fox News regular, couldn't tell me one thing Obama said that she agreed with when she appeared on my radio show following Obama's prime-timer.

Reaction to Obama's Oval Office Speech

Obama Shows He's in Charge -- Alan Colmes
Yes We Can, Maybe, If We Pray Hard Enough -- Rachel Sklar
Obama's Vision Deficit on Display -- Nick Gillespie
Not the Obama We Needed -- Philip Bump
Obama Leaves No Crisis Unused -- Andrew Malcolm
Obama's (Mostly Good) Speech Misses a Beat -- Bob Lehrman
A Missed Opportunity -- Clinton Fein
Crisis Communicator in Chief -- Bob Maistros

Obama's four trips to the gulf and mobilization of equipment, experts and 30,000 first responders is meaningless to those who would be touting these initiatives were they via a Republican president. A restoration plan paid for with BP money, kept in escrow, seems irrelevant to those who just want to use this crisis to score political points. The point the president made that regulation is necessary and the push for sustainable alternative energy sources is more important now than ever, goes against the ideology of those who hate anything government does and who are in the pocket of Big Oil.

Yes, President Obama was short on specifics, but offer many specifics, as was done with the health care reform bill, and the critics whine that it's too long to read. Besides, this speech was meant to give a broad overview and to let America, and the world, know that the president is in charge and can even feel our pain. His best line was when he acknowledged the "wrenching anxiety" of people who feel as though an entire way of life may be lost.

Obama can't "stop the gusher," but neither can his critics. If they can, it's their patriotic duty to catch the next plane for the gulf and do so immediately.

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