President Obama's "BP Speech"from the Oval Office on Tuesday night disappointed on several levels. To put it mildly, Obama spoke without focus, conviction or determination. In a vapid speech full of generalities about making BP pay, changes in our energy habits and the strength of Americans to deal with adversities, we heard very little that was new. We did not hear of concrete plans to clean up the mess in the Gulf of Mexico or any legislative steps that the administration plans to take to ensure that similar disasters will be prevented in the future. The president spent unnecessary moments of an already brief address in telling us that Energy Secretary Stephen Chu is a Nobel Laureate, Admiral Thad Allen of the US Coast Guards has forty years of experience, the Secretary of Navy is a "son of the Gulf" and that five and a half million feet of boom have been laid out to contain the spread of oil. He also assured us that he has " established a National Commission to understand the causes of this disaster and offer recommendations on what additional safety and environmental standards we need to put in place."
Most irritating for me was this pablum at the end of Obama's speech:
It is a faith in the future that sustains us as a people. It is that same faith that sustains our neighbors in the Gulf right now.
Each year, at the beginning of shrimping season, the region's fishermen take part in a tradition that was brought to America long ago by fishing immigrants from Europe. It's called "The Blessing of the Fleet," and today it's a celebration where clergy from different religions gather to say a prayer for the safety and success of the men and women who will soon head out to sea some for weeks at a time.
The ceremony goes on in good times and in bad. It took place after Katrina, and it took place a few weeks ago at the beginning of the most difficult season these fishermen have ever faced.
And still, they came and they prayed. For as a priest and former fisherman once said of the tradition, "The blessing is not that God has promised to remove all obstacles and dangers. The blessing is that He is with us always," a blessing that's granted "even in the midst of the storm."
The fishermen pray for protection against storms at sea. I hope our lawyerly president is not confusing corporate malfeasance with natural calamities. And if he is, he ought to know that prayers don't always protect against the Act of God.
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