By now, everyone knows that President Obama said the word “ass” in an interview with the Today show, as in, he’s figuring out “whose ass to kick” over this whole oil thing. That flash of anger is what some people say Obama has lacked so far in his response to this environmental catastrophe, and Obama seems to be listening and giving in to the demand. But he still needs the full cooperation of BP his presumed ass-kicking target now and in the future, which can make things a little tricky. For example, Obama tells Matt Lauer in the same interview that he hasn’t picked up the phone and chewed out BP CEO Tony Hayward (he hasn’t spoken to him at all, actually), because, while it would be cathartic, Obama’s “main job is to solve the problem,” not to “vent” and “shout and holler.” At the same time, Obama says he would have fired Hayward for any one of the many idiotic comments he’s made. And the tightrope walk continues …
I would have fired BP chief by now, Obama says [Today/MSNBC]
