Ax to O: Etouffee is that-a-way (ap photo)
Beltway is firmly on record suggesting that this time, President Obama stride purposefully back to the Gulf Coast in a dashing pair of lined, rubberized waders. They are just the thing to convey all that is lacking from the federal response — although possibly photographed at a bad angle, it could be John Kerry in the wormhole all over again.
At any rate, instead of Australia, Guam and Indonesia, Obama heads back to the oil-slopped Gulf Coast next week for two days of squinting at the horizon and getting briefed by local officials. It’s a no-win for Obama: If he goes, we wonder why. If he stays away, we go on cable to say he doesn’t care.
The impertinent questions were asked at the White House briefing today, “What does he intend to do while he is there?” and “What can he learn on this trip? Why does he think he needs to go back and what can he learn that he doesn’t already know?”
GIBBS: This trip will — will take us to the three additional Gulf states that have now been affected by oil hitting their land. He’s likely to stop in Gulfport, Mississippi — there’s a Coast Guard facility there — in Theodore, Alabama, which is just south of Mobile and inside of Mobile Bay, which is a large staging area for — for many aspects of the surface response, including storage for and cleaning of boom…
I think — we talked about a stop, I don’t know if it’s been confirmed, in Orange Beach, Alabama, another place that has been impacted by oil on shore, as well as a stop likely in Pensacola, Florida, Escambia County, the western most Panhandle county that is beginning to also see oil wash ashore.
I think in each one of these, he’s going to meet with — he will see Coast Guard officials about the — and response officials about the steps that are being taken to respond to, as you’ve heard Admiral Allen say, a oil that has — that has broken up and gone in many directions and provides unique challenges to the environment in each of these places.
Obviously, in — along parts of the Panhandle, you’ve got — in Florida, you’ve got beaches. In places like Mobile Bay you have some of the richest estuaries in the country. Efforts that are being taken environmentally to stop the flow of oil into and onto those areas.
Meet with locals. Meet with elected officials that are on the ground about the cleanup. And, again, hear from — hear from those impacted economically by — by this disaster.
Obviously, if you think about the pictures that we’re all seeing on the television, obviously you’ve got oil going into marshland in Louisiana. You’ve got along Mississippi and Alabama, you’ve got a couple of different types of environmental aspects that you’re dealing with. Again, like I said, estuaries in some places, recreational beaches in others.
And then, along the Panhandle of Florida, you’ve got more what everyone thinks of as places where you go in the late spring and summer.
The challenges across those vary, based on the type of place. And the economic damages incurred by those are different, based on whether you own a hotel or whether you’re a commercial fisherman as well as those that are evaluating and seeing what possible environmental impact something like this could have.
Marshland! Varied challenges! We have just the thing:
What the well-dress POTUS is wearing this season.
