Politics put Obama in no-win situation

Stanley R. Goldfarb, Las Vegas

Wednesday, June 2, 2010 | 2:04 a.m.

Katrina was a natural disaster, like earthquakes, floods and tornadoes. You know, “acts of God.” Sort of impersonal events not directed at any one nation, city or group of people. So all of humanity rises up to mitigate the effects, provide aid and console the victims.

This oil spill, however, is the direct result of a corporation’s activity (“Drill, baby, drill”) in pursuit of profit. The government has the responsibility to prosecute any unlawful activity. Was BP in violation of any state or federal laws? Investigations are under way. BP must fix the problem.

Now, I can see why a “bleeding heart” liberal would demand that the nanny government intervene on behalf of the victims and spend billions to accomplish what BP apparently has been unable to do. Conservatives, on the other hand, believe government is inept and would never expect it to succeed where private industry has failed.

So this nonsense about blaming President Barack Obama for taking a sideline position in this case is understandable only from an opportunistic political viewpoint. It’s completely contrary to conservative principles and is patently hypocritical.

Surely had Obama immediately jumped to the rescue, spent several billion dollars in an effort to stop the leak, and was no more successful than the experts at BP, Republicans would be wringing their hands and rightfully condemning the administration for letting BP off the hook and wasting taxpayer money. Even had he been successful, they’d have excoriated him for taking over BP’s responsibility and wasting taxpayer money.