Opinion: How About Some Real Leadership on the Gulf Oil Cleanup?

(June 25) -- Now that President Barack Obama has settled on Gen. David Petraeus to lead the war in Afghanistan, maybe he can focus his attention on putting the right general in charge of the other war that's going badly for the administration.

You know, the one in the Gulf ... of Mexico.

In his Oval Office address last week, Obama described the oil spill in unmistakable warlike terms, talking about "the battle we're waging" against oil and "our battle plan" going forward, and promising to "fight this spill with everything we've got."

But while the response to the spill is clearly under Obama's control, the federal effort so far seriously lacks anything like military precision. More than two months into this crisis and there's still ongoing confusion about who's in charge, bureaucratic bumbling and rising complaints that far less than "everything" is being done to contain the oil.

Indeed, a recent New York Times story called the response effort "chaotic," noting that "from the beginning the effort has been bedeviled by a lack of preparation, organization, urgency and clear lines of authority among federal, state and local officials, as well as BP." As a result, "damage to the coastline and wildlife has been worse than it might have been."

Who's in Charge?

In his speech, Obama said that that "from the very beginning of this crisis, the federal government has been in charge."

But while Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen is the point person for the cleanup, "who's in charge" remains an open question. Consider:

The Associated Press reported after Obama's speech that "local officials in the gulf region have complained that often they don't know who is in charge -- the government or BP."

At a congressional hearing this month, Billy Nungesser, president of Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, said, "I still don't know who's in charge. ... I have spent more time fighting the officials of BP and the Coast Guard than fighting the oil. We've got people in charge who don't know what they're doing."

An ABC News report last week -- titled "Who's in Charge?" -- showed a labyrinthine org chart, and quoted Alabama Gov. Bob Riley as saying, "It's like this huge committee down there ... and every decision that we try to implement, any one person on that committee has absolute veto power."

Leading Senate Democrats are complaining about the lack of clear lines of authority. "We want to see a rapid-response team get out there," Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said on Sunday's "Face the Nation." Florida's Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson added that "we have to have that command and control where things get done immediately."

That's a call, by the way, that Nelson has been making for some time. Weeks ago, he complained that there were "too many cooks in the kitchen" in the cleanup effort, and that "information is not flowing. The decisions are not timely. ... And as a result, you have a big mess." Apparently, Nelson has been shouting into the wind.

Doing Everything?

President Obama also promised in his Oval Office speech that the federal government would "do everything" to fight the spill. Well ... not everything, it turns out. Examples:

Berms. On Tuesday, the federal government decided to put the brakes on efforts to build sand berms meant to protect the Louisiana coastline from oil, out of concern about where the dredging was being done. "Once again our government resource agencies, which are intended to protect us, are now leaving us vulnerable to the destruction of our coastline and marshes by the impending oil," Nungesser wrote in a letter to Obama.

Earlier, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and local officials had to plead for weeks with the Army Corps of Engineers before getting a green light to build about 40 miles of sand berms along the barrier islands.

Skimmers. On June 11, Adm. Allen said there were 400 skimmers in operation in the gulf -- skimmers are used to suck up oil from the water -- but noted that "nationally there are a little over 2,000 skimmers or skimming-type vehicles out there that ... are potentially available for use."

If you are doing "everything," wouldn't those other 1,600 skimmers be in the gulf right now? (At one point, the Coast Guard actually blocked 16 skimmers from going out into the gulf because it wanted to make sure the boats had life jackets and fire extinguishers on board.)

Jones Act. There's also the question of why Obama hasn't waived the Jones Act -- a law that prevents foreign-flagged ships from operating near the U.S. coast (as President George W. Bush did in the immediate aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita) -- to get more ships in the region collecting oil.

The administration has said a blanket waiver isn't needed since no one has asked for one. But that seems awfully passive. Keith Hennessey, who coordinated the Jones Act waivers for Bush, said it's like "the house on Halloween with no lights on and an angry pit bull tied to a tree in the front yard. When asked why they don't hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, they reply that they haven't had any requests."

Given the scale and immediacy of the spill, wouldn't it make more sense to waive the act right now and put out a global call for any ship that can help to come on over? (And, by the way, how pathetic is it that Iran is now offering to help with the cleanup if Obama asks.)

Given all this, is it any wonder that just 32 percent think President Obama has a "clear plan" for dealing with the gulf spill? Or that 61 percent think his response has been too slow?

Call in the General

If Obama wants to turn things around – for the gulf and himself -- what he should do is put in charge someone who is unquestionably a capable, forceful and effective leader.

Someone like, say ... retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf.

Think about it.

Anyone old enough will well remember Stormin' Norman's riveting briefings during the first Gulf War. He made the war make sense, and you took comfort knowing that he was doing everything in his power to win it. And that he knew what he was doing.

Schwarzkopf became a celebrity as a result of those war briefings. The National Enquirer called him "America's sexiest man" and there was talk after the war of recruiting him for a presidential run.

Just imagine if he were leading the gulf cleanup effort today. He'd have his pointer and maps, showing the current location of the enemy, where we were attacking with our skimmers and booms, how we're mobilizing friendly nations in the effort. And how we're kicking butt against idiotic bureaucrats standing in the way. He might even show video of the luckiest bird in the gulf.

Of course, Obama is hampered by the fact that BP can't seem to get a lid on the well still spewing oil into the gulf.

But do you think anyone would seriously doubt Obama was delivering on his promise to protect our shores from the invading oil enemy "with everything we've got" if Schwarzkopf, or someone of his caliber, were running the show?

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