Obama Takes Action!

The President is not just talk,talk,talk on the oil spill crisis (now in Day 58). He's taking action, and has volunteers taking action all across the Gulf Coast.

In all seriousness, President Obama needs to tell his political handlers to shut up and let him focus on the actual business at hand. He's flying down to the Gulf every time there's a perceived need for him to appear involved. And - unlike Bill Clinton - he's not convincing. Even some of his most loyal, liberal supporters were sharply critical of his latest speech. It had all the trappings of decisive authority, taking place in the sacred Oval Office, but lacked substance.

America is not as foolish as Washington thinks it is. Obama, Pelosi, and friends constantly bemoan their "failure to communicate" (on health care, on cap and trade, on the oil spill). The real problem is that they have succeeded in communicating. They've communicated their priorities of politics over substance, they've communicated their unwillingness to make hard decisions. Above all, Obama has communicated his own helplessness to stop the oil leak. I can't stop it either, of course, but I don't compound my weakness by pretending that I can.