As a kind of reply to Michael’s post, but also a reply to the general anger at the Obama administration’s response to the oil spill, I must say that I’ve been both scratching my head at some points and shaking my head (at the administration) at others. The administration certainly deserves some hits in a few areas, but I have to say that I’m surprised that even conservatives have been calling for a more active response to the crisis.

Yet, all involved have great points to make.  The federal government has been too lackluster in its response to this crisis.  It needs to do more; it doesn’t have to go all-in like the liberals want, but there are some key areas where should involve themselves in.

The liberals’ demands – ranging from a takeover of the cleanup efforts at the most moderate, to the dismantling of BP at the most radical – I can understand.  Liberals generally want more government in the economic realm as it is.  The response to this government inaction is similar to their general MO, so it’s not surprising.  However, even some conservatives have chimed in, suggesting the government should have taken a more direct role in the clean up.

No less than Karl Rove wrote this yesterday:

Initially, Team Obama wanted to keep this problem away from the president (a natural instinct for any White House). It took Mr. Obama 12 days to show up in the region. Democrats criticized President George W. Bush for waiting four days after Katrina to go to New Orleans.

Now the administration is intent on making it appear he has engaged all along. But this stance is undermined by lack of action. Where has its plan been? And why has the White House been so slow with decisions?

Now it’s not to say there are not areas of legitimate concern. Most notably is a lackluster response to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal over at a request to dredge sand in the state’s marshlands, a plan with widespread support in Louisiana.  There is also concern that some of the oil booms set up to keep the oil away from land failed…errr…because they weren’t set up.

However, there are areas that I’ve been surprised to see conservatives demand more direct action on.  Lets return to Rove’s article.  He seems to stop just short of suggesting the federal government take over the clean up operation entirely.  Sen. Bill Nelson (D – FL) said that was the next step, should the “top kill” fail, but for Karl Rove to almost go there is surprising.

Then again, maybe not, because if the top dogs have been slow and seemingly indifferent, those on the front lines, like the Coast Guard, seem to be completely crippled.  I touched on this last week when I shared a video from CBS News, where the Coast Guard asked a reporter and her crew to leave a beach, apparently because of rules set in place by BP itself.  I’m not sure who was in command at that point, but it doesn’t appear to have been the organization charged with protection of our coasts.  Even Admiral Thad Allen of the Coast Guard seems to have been more of a liaison than the guy in charge of things, as is his supposed role.

Incidents like that would fit the narrative by some commentators (like Rove) that the federal government has been far too hands off on the cleanup efforts, as well as the one created by the reports of a cozy relationship between the oil companies and the Minerals Management Service.  Even Rove called for the administration to give BP more direction over how to operate the cleanup.  And I myself have questioned the timeline of this operation, wondering why efforts like the “top kill” were not started weeks ago.  The answer appears to be that they needed to install the new piping in order to get the mud and cement down there, but that still doesn’t explain why they spent almost a week pumping oil into large tankers.  I did notice that the same day, or day after pressure increased to proceed with capping the well, BP announced the now in operation top kill plan would begin in a few days.  Before that there was a more ambiguous answer for when it would start.

In the end, I don’t think there was a more qualified group than BP to clean this up.  They are the experts.  Sending in the federal government to completely take over the operation would just add more levels of bureaucracy than already exist.  That said, I agree with Karl Rove that there should be some direction during this operation.  The best thing the federal government can do at this point is to improve coordination between themselves and the shoreline communities affected by the oil, particularly Louisiana, but also with an eye on acting in Alabama, Florida, and Texas.  The oil is already affecting the marshlands in Louisiana; lets hope the Everglades aren’t next.  That means being proactive.  Get the booms ready now, not when crisis is upon them.  Approve Jindal’s request for dredging, and send help for the work he already started there.  And keep on top of the “top kill” efforts, and make sure that BP is being honest with their assessment of how it’s going.

There might be a few things I missed that the government can do, but I think those are the biggies.  It’s not a government takeover of the operation like the liberals want, but it does insert the feds enough to provide proper oversight.