Obama Uses the Oil Spill to Promote Change and Promote New Energy

“So far there have been no oil leaks below this depth. It has examined the limits of human technology. This is why, after the accident, I arranged for the best scientists and engineers in our country to deal with this challenge.”

"We will use all possible resources to deal with the leak; we will let BP pay for the damage caused by their company; we will take every possible measure to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this tragedy."

“I want to know why the American people have the right to know why. I have encountered family members who lost their lives in the explosion in the past few weeks and they have the right to know why. I will set up a national committee to investigate this. The cause of the disaster and comments on improving safety standards and environmental standards."

“We cannot leave this kind of future for our children. This tragedy that occurred on our coast is the most painful and powerful warning. It tells us that now is the time to embrace the future of new energy; now is this generation. Take the national mission to release America's creativity and grasp its own destiny."

According to Xinhua News Agency, US President Barack Obama delivered a national televised speech at the Oval Office of the White House on the evening of the 15th and vowed to make every effort to “fight to the end” the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and called for the promotion of new energy policies.

Analysts believe that in this rare non-routine national televised speech, Obama seems to be trying to use the current ecological crisis to boost the energy reform bill.

Go all out

Obama has just ended his visit to the three states along the Gulf Coast and immediately issued a national televised speech.

In his speech, he mentioned that he would urge BP to allocate compensation funds; the operation of compensation funds needs to be subject to third-party supervision; set up a committee to investigate the root causes of oil spills; and promote new environmental safety standards.

Obama acknowledged that this last-minute oil spill was the worst environmental disaster in the history of the United States.

He promised that he would urge BP to compensate the local government and people for the loss caused by the oil spill crisis, and let BP pay for its own "recklessness."

Obama announced a "combat plan" to deal with the oil spill that day, but did not specify the specifics of the new plan.

He compared the crisis to a "pandemic" crisis, and it is expected that the entire country will use "a few months or even years" to resolve the crisis.

Obama promised the people that no matter how long it takes, the government will “do its best” to resolve this crisis.

Promote change

Obama then made a move and moved the topic to promote new energy. He called on the United States to act to accelerate clean energy development.

Obama said that although the American people understand that the days of relying on oil are numbered, they will need to overcome their dependence on fossil fuels and instead develop renewable energy sources. The consequences of inaction will lead the country to "a dismal prospect."

He said that the lifestyle of the Gulf Coast residents is being threatened by the leakage of crude oil. “We can't leave kids with this kind of future... It's time for this generation to begin to release the American mission of American innovation and control their destiny.”

Obama previously explicitly stated that he supports a new energy bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This time, perhaps due to the fact that the economy has not fully recovered and its political outlook is not optimistic, he has not made any deep statement on this issue.

Obama said that he is willing to accept any suggestions from the Democratic and Republican Parties on reducing oil dependence. He stressed that the last thing you want to see is "stagnation."

Analysts commented that although Obama is pushing for new energy and describing a bright future for the people, what the public is most concerned about is plugging it. It is meaningless to talk about the long-term goal.

Public opinion is bigger than the president

It is rare for the U.S. president to publish a non-routine national speech at prime time in the evening. According to media commentary, in the past, most of the presidents issued similar statements and faced national crises such as wars and major disasters.

Polls show that people generally believe that Obama has failed to deal with this crisis and he is too "soft" to deal with BP. With the approaching of the parliamentary mid-term election in November this year, the Democrats will be able to hold on to their positions. Obama promised that on the 16th meeting with the chairman of the BP board of directors will urge the latter to set up compensation funds for the victims. In order to ensure reasonable and timely payment of funds, this amount will be “custodial” by an independent group.

According to media commentary, the public previously believed that Obama was not "inputted" in this crisis. In order to win public opinion, Obama recently inspected the disaster and was a national televised speech. He frequently "highly concerns" the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and hopes to leave it to the people. Pay attention to their immediate interests.

Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, immediately criticized him for using the crisis to win the hearts of the people and gain political benefits for himself.

Real interest is safer than security

In 1989, the oil spill of the Valdez oil tanker of the United States Exxon Petroleum Company caused hundreds of thousands of seabirds and thousands of large-scale marine animals to die, and local fisheries had no harvest for many years. The incident struck American society and directly prompted President Bush to freeze the US offshore oil exploitation.

Unfortunately, environmental safety considerations are vulnerable to the benefits. Since 2008, under the special political background of high oil price temptation and election year, US offshore oil has once again "fighted" and "exploited" the game, eventually culminating in the victory of the Bush administration. The US Senate and the House of Commons have successively lifted the relevant bans. Take the bill.

The soaring price of oil also made the American people forget the hidden worries of the environment. Public opinion surveys in the past two years show that most of the U.S. people support offshore oil exploration. Due to blind confidence in the existing technology, considerations for environmental safety are almost ignored.

Although the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was not caused by the lifting of the United States offshore oil, it is a warning: “Do you suffer from this kind of amnesia?”

September 24, 1957

Eisenhower directed against apartheid.

October 22, 1962

Kennedy is against the Cuban missile crisis.

March 31, 1968

Johnson speaks for the Vietnam War.

August 9, 1974

Nixon announced his resignation in the Watergate incident.

September 8, 1974

Successor Ford announced the pardon of Nixon.

From 1977 to 1980

Carter was appointed as a member of the Iranian hostage crisis and once directed at energy.

1981 to 1988

During his term of office, Reagan spoke on the Challenger space shuttle explosion and the Iranian gate incident.

1989 to 1992

Bush had spoken on the Somali incident, the Los Angeles Riots and the Gulf War.

1993 to 2000

Clinton spoke on airstrikes against Yugoslavia, airstrikes on Iraq, and airstrikes on Afghanistan.

2001 to 2008

Bush Jr. spoke on the September 11th and Iraq war and immigration reforms.