Yes, it is a political exercise.
Admiral Thad Allen has had the authority all along to do this, as well as shut BP down and out. There really is no sense of urgency or gravity by the government. After his appearance yesterday on The Rachel Maddow Show put him up front as the face for government's failure (he's not the problem -- the fault lies way up at the top in the Oval Office).
Putting this team together today is his (and the Obama administration's) latest effort to stall and avoid responsibility for this catastrophe.
BP is still operating, BP's Atlantis operation (unsafe and uninspected) is still operating, Bobby Jindal didn't call for help in protecting Louisiana's wetlands until after the oil washed ashore there yesterday (4 weeks after the oil was known to be gushing out of control and heading for Louisiana), Obama hasn't nationalized this entire operation, is still insisting on a cap for what BP (and all oil companies) would have to pay, the oil and gas is gushing out of control, and they're just now trying to figure out how much has been spilled?
Oh, and Admiral Thad Allen is retiring from the Coast Guard in 2 weeks. Someone else will then replace him and have to be brought up to speed on this situation. A stop-loss is in order right about now.
Yes, this is Obama's Katrina.
About Gulf Oil Spill
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