Of Top Hats, Top Kills and Bottom Feeders

All those acronyms from Wall Street to Washington to the wetlands — and crises abound.

Of Top Hats, Top Kills and Bottom Feeders

FTA: 'The laconic president is once more giving too much deference and trust to rapacious corporate scoundrels and failing to swiftly grasp and articulate the alarm of Americans.' The above is a perfect description of the overall behavior of the Obama administration. Deference; trust; friendships - these words are not in the handbook of ethical good governance - be it in private industry, the media or public service. Rather, they are words in that other handbook, the one which describes the ways in which we are led down the garden path to corruption and betrayal. The President is scheduled to go to Louisiana on Friday. I predict it will be his watershed moment. Where 9/11 was seized to turn the country in the wrong direction, Obama must use the Gulf oil disaster to restore the country and make it whole again. He must get mad, take charge and clean house - save the Gulf, restore the government (and the Constitution.) Obama must grasp hold of the country's problem and marshal the right people and resources to fix them; leaders such as Billy Nungesser, President of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana - people who have the right stuff. The one thing that must not happen is to assume we have the luxury of time.

This is not the Tea Party. This is The Republicans, the dirty tricks branch.

It is far too late for hurry. We need the disaster to stop growing. If a day or a week will make the difference between success and failure the time and damage are well worth it.

This is not the first oil discharge into the gulf. Jamaican asphalt was famous in the 19th century. LaBrea is noted for its tar pits. Bitumen Sealed the ancient world. Naphtha made Greek fire. Nature will clean up this mess in a few generations. We may manage to hurry things a bit.

Maybe this time we can learn to prepare and stay prepared.