cleaning up

Obama Just Wants Anyone to ‘Plug the Damn Hole’

BP’s next attempt at stopping the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is scheduled for Wednesday. The tactic goes by the badass name of “top kill,” in which “heavy drilling fluid is to be pumped into the head of the leaking well,” and if the past few weeks are any indication, it will probably fail. After that, they might try the ol’ “throw a bunch of junk in there” technique (also known by the porn-y name “junk shot”) that everyone has been making fun of, or they could attempt to install “a new funneling device or lower a new blowout preventer on top of the 450-ton one that failed.” And if none of that works, it could be until August that a relief well finally stops the spill, at which point 80 percent of Louisiana will be covered in a thick coat of oil, by our estimates. As you might imagine, this is all very frustrating to President Obama, who, despite all the powers at his disposal, is pretty much helpless to move this along.

Obama is so frustrated by the situation that he’s taking it out on his aides, with words of anger and a jaw that is becoming ever more clenched.

But to those tasked with keeping the president apprised of the disaster, Obama’s clenched jaw is becoming an increasingly familiar sight. During one of those sessions in the Oval Office the first week after the spill, a president who rarely vents his frustration cut his aides short, according to one who was there.

And that was weeks ago! Just imagine how angry he must be at this point. Just imagine how clenched his jaw must be.

Obama administration conflicted about relying on BP to stop gulf oil spill [WP]
How BP’s ‘top kill’ procedure will work [CNN]

Obama Just Wants Anyone to ‘Plug the Damn Hole’