Will Obama Hold Another Press Conference?

No, "they" didn't; Lynn Sweet did. [transcript - http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/07/obama_july_22_2009_press_confe.html ]



It was supposed to be, and was, all about health care reform. But after 7 questions, where he gave long and wandering answers (a gimmick by Obama to slow the momentum of aggressive questioning), and with the reporters just warming up and starting to ask hard-hitting follow-up questions, Obama ended it by calling on his old buddy, Chicago Sun Times' Lynn Sweet, to help him change the subject with a question out of left field, having nothing to do with the job of the president.



Obama knew what the question was going to be, by the way. That he would encourage the question given how he RUNS from any discussion having to do with race, and dove into with a position when he hadn't even had the facts of the case straight (uncharacteristically sloppy for Obama) should tell you that he wanted the news cycle that had been all about Gates and race to continue, and not be about him on healthcare reform.
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Obama Echoes George H.W. Bush On Oil Spill Response (VIDEO)

It's very safe for presidents who say things publicly like, "Exxon is liable and they will continue to be liable... I think Exxon has assumed liability and I'm not going to stand here and suggest otherwise" and, "BP has committed to pay for the response effort, and we will hold them to their obligation".



The reality is it's just talk.



When the time comes to pay up, BP, like Exxon, will drag its feet, stall, will have to be taken to court, and after 20 years of litigation over the amount, the US Supreme Court will slash the amount of money the company is required to pay that doesn't begin to cover the costs of the damage done.



In the intervening years, BP, like Exxon, will raise prices to pay for the anticipated judgment (that's the excuse they use), and enjoy record profits.



These companies need to be nationalized and the executives need to face criminal charges.



The real question is, "Is Elena Kagan likely to let lower court rulings over money judgments against corporations with no regard for the law, environment or human life stand, or is she inclined to "cobble a majority compromise" (meaning she joins the rightwing of the Court)?
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