The BP oil “gusher” should pretty much HOG the news cycles until August (and beyond) – unless a miracle happens and they get the spill stopped prior to finishing the “relief well” which, from everything I can surmise is the only REAL solution to the problem.  (makes one wonder – well, I should say it’s making me wonder – why the relief well wasn’t part of the REQUIREMENTS for BP when they originally drilled this nightmare.  The oil has now reached some of the “pristine” beaches of Florida – and, what I believe a lot of people don’t understand is it’s a MENACE to many more beaches than the ones already under attack.  So, I “get” that in today’s America, this is what we’ll all be talking about.  President Obama is going to do everything he can to make sure he doesn’t relive the Bush “Katrina” disaster, but, as I’ve stated many times on this site – I believe it’s time for President Obama to get some new ADVISORS!  His tepid approach to just about EVERYTHING is not “what the doctor ordered.”  And, the republicans are really good at taking advantage of this – they are going to do EVERYTHING in their power to make Obama look as bad as they can. (despite the consequences on our nation of their lack of support!)

Of course, we’ll never convince the right wing “sheep,” (or should I say “ditto heads”) that the regime of Bush/Cheney is largely to blame for ALL of the things going wrong right now – so, that shouldn’t even be part of the discussion from Obama’s quarters.  If President Obama doesn’t go AGRESSIVELY on the attack – AGAINST REPUBLICANS – soon, I believe his presidency is doomed.  (Well, that being said, I still can only think of one credible republican candidate for 2012 and his name is Bush – and, God help us if we get another one of “them” in the White House)  Bush/Cheney gutted the tax system leading to the HUGE deficits which so many “Tea Partiers” are up in arms about (blaming Obama, of course), Bush/Cheney led us into two interminable, disgustingly illegal and immoral occupations – which Obama apparently doesn’t have the “stones” to pull us out of, it was Bush/Cheney who GUTTED their regulatory system leading to WHO KNOWS HOW MANY more situations which could turn into another “Deep Horizon” disaster (I don’t know if you remember, but the regulators at the Minerals Management Service were doing drugs and having sexual orgies with the people they were supposedly regulating regarding the oil rigs – this was during the “family values” era of Bush/Cheney) – so, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to find out how many “requirements” were waived on this “Deep Horizon” rig, and worse than all of this is the general legacy Bush/Cheney left behind of the US as the world’s new Soviet Union – our CIA being compared to the KGB around the world – complete with our leaders authorizing TORTURE and, therefore, WAR CRIMES!

Yes, this oil disaster is HUGE – but, it will be stopped at least by August.  The Bush/Cheney legacy will continue on for untold years and Obama’s reaction to it will FOREVER stain his presidency.  I’ve been pointing this out since the first day I heard of the “we’re looking forward instead of back” policy of President Obama and Eric Holder.  In fact, I couldn’t help be turned off by the incredible hypocrisy watching Holder last week pointing out that the justice department was holding a thorough civil and criminal investigation of the BP oil spill and “if laws were broken, there will be prosecutions ‘TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW!'”  That is EXACTLY what Obama PROMISED on the campaign trail – regarding TORTURE – and, Holder, in his confirmation hearings certainly led me to believe he would not turn his back on TORTURE!  I guess the FACT it was AUTHORIZED by the highest leaders in our land made Obama and Holder a bit nervous.  Well, now it’s all coming back to haunt them – AGAIN – and, it will continue to do so FOREVER – if they don’t do something about it!

I usually have a lot of respect for Keith Olberman, but the other day when he brought up the subject of GW Bush admitting that he had authorized TORTURE he said something like “now that he’s admitted it, shouldn’t we do something?”  Well, earth to Keith – go ahead and have someone check the records – both Bush and Cheney admitted to authorizing WATERBOARDING shortly after leaving office – and both said the same thing Bush said again the other evening – “I’d do it again!”  (as far as I’m concerned, the media has been part of the problem because NO ONE’S complaining that our leaders were allowed to break innumerable laws with not even an investigation)That’s precisely my point – Mr. President!  If you don’t get with it and “take the bull by the horns” here – we’re going to have a republican in the White House again – sooner rather than later – and, when they start torturing again – it’s going to be YOUR FAULT!

Do you remember Iran/Contra?  Bill Clinton chose to “look forward” (maybe that’s where Obama got that HORRIBLE idea) letting people like Oliver North, George HW Bush, and even Ronald Reagan (Oh yes, and Clinton himself very possibly) “off the hook” for sanctioning an illegal “war” which involved drugs, guns, and lots of OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE!  Well, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that many of the “culprits” in the Bush 43 “crowd” were part of the Iran/Contra affair.  These people clearly believe the laws are made for us “little people.”  And, President Obama has forever (unless he comes to his wits – now that he has a second opportunity) sanctioned not only Nixon’s RIDICULOUS claim “if the president does it, it must be legal” which so many people spent so much energy to prove wrong, but also Bush/Cheney’s assumption that the laws don’t apply to them.  The saying goes, it’s MUCH easier to give up rights than to get them back – and, we’re seeing that with President Obama.  He is so reluctant to give back the abuses of the Bush/Cheney White House that he’s actually been “seen” in court defending them – like regarding illegal wiretapping and, just recently, refusing habeous corpus rights to “detainees” at Bagram Air Base in Afganistan.  And, for those of you who are not following this – the rest of the world – especially the Muslin portion of it – sees Bagram in the same light as Abu Ghraib and GITMO.  Obama’s lack of decisiveness is fueling the resurgence of the republican party and deflating the “left” which went to so much trouble to get him elected. 

I’m honestly feeling that President Obama is going out of his way to prove to the “right” that he’s not “weak.”  The problem with that “strategy” is that Obama needn’t prove anything to them.  And, they are salivating at his attempts to do this.  I can only imagine what is being said in the republican “caucus” meetings on capital hill.  By attempting to show that he’s not weak, President Obama is coming across exactly as that – WEAK!  And, the democratic congress isn’t helping him much.  I don’t believe President Obama has the time that FDR had to “get it together” in relation to the FIGHT against America’s “right wing” and the corporatocracy which is threatening to set this nation back almost 100 years.  It’s time for our president to LEAD!  As I’ve said many times on this site (if you don’t believe me I’ve archived every post) the REAL WAR is right here in America.  It’s the war for the direction of this nation.  Are we going to just let the corporations and the republicans who support them “have their way” with us?  When Obama was elected I, for some reason, thought that he understood that all too well.  “The change we can believe in” wasn’t just switching from a republican to a democrat in the White House.  I just assumed that all the “liberties” Bush/Cheney took with the executive branch of our government would be reversed.  That has certainly not been the case, and to make matters worse, we still have Bush/Cheney going around BRAGGING about committing WAR CRIMES knowing that our new president doesn’t have the guts to hold them accountable!

Obama gets plenty of “flack” from the “right.”  I really wish I didn’t feel compelled to write stuff like this.  However, I continue to hold out a slim hope that maybe President Obama will see what’s happening to his presidency, and as a result, to the rest of us who so willingly supported him in 2008.  Yes, it’s a tough spot to be in.  The challenges are overwhelming.  But, Obama keeps making one tepid decision after another – all, seemingly with the desire to make peace with the “right,” and it’s  NOT “what the doctor ordered.”  If you’ve been reading my posts for any length of time, you know how I feel about the Bush/Cheney regime.  I had pretty much given up on Obama’s opportunity to hold Bush/Cheney accountable for the OBVIOUS lawbreaking they were responsible for.  However, George W Bush’s recent remarks supporting TORTURE should be enough to get President Obama to start the investigations of EVERYTHING they did which is suspect!  I don’t even care if Bush/Cheney end up in jail – I just want The United States of America to be able to say – with conviction – WE DON’T TORTURE!  If a whole bunch of government officials need to be convicted of this crime to make this point – then, SO BE IT!