jumpingfish

Not so long ago, our fearless leader was moving in a different direction than today.  Not so long ago, he said,

…oil rigs today don’t generally cause spills.  They are technologically very advanced. [ref: msnbc]

That was not so long ago.  Today the situation has obviously changed.

Today, there aren’t many people who want to hear about how advanced that technology was (and “was” is the operative word, as all that wonderful technology lies in a heap on the Gulf floor while brown goo belches from broken pipes).  Today, there aren’t many people who want  to hear about how the rigs don’t generally cause spills, because it’s quite clear now that generally doesn’t help when a single event can do what this single event is doing.

So today, our fearless leader is moving in a different direction than he was back then.  He’s seen the light, evidently.

It’s … our job to make sure this kind of mess doesn’t happen again. [ref: firedoglake]

With great anticipation I await his proposal on just how he’s going to do that.  Because the technology hasn’t changed. And as BP says, this is just a tiny amount of oil in the ocean, and the motivation to drill baby drill hasn’t gone away. And there are plenty of politicians willing to carry water for these folks for just a contribution or two to their reelection fund.

So what’s he going to do?

What’s he going to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?  How’s he going to put in place a system that can stare down the billions in profits that come from this enterprise?  How’s he going to ensure that his regulators don’t again get captured by the regulatees?

What are you going to do, Mr. President?

Don’t tell us about all the people being marshaled, about the volunteers and Coast Guard.  Don’t tell us about all the best brains, about all the fancy technology.  Don’t tell us about miles of boom laid or number of ships deployed or millions gallons of toxic water skimmed.  Don’t give us figures and happy-talk.

Just tell us how you’re going to make sure this kind of mess never happens again.  And convince us that it will work.

hat tip: the agonist