BP Oil Spill: Has Obama Lost His Leadership Mojo?

President Barack Obama looks out of touch. His handling of the BP oil spill, especially his performance over the past few days, has been muted, too cerebral, and operated in slow motion - much like the unfolding environmental crisis in the Gulf of Mexico.

This isn't the time for No Drama Obama. This is the time for President Obama to take charge and show leadership in the wake of the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. Show some emotion, Mr. President. Get in the trenches and take charge!

Too passive. Too late.

While oil is spewing into the Gulf, killing wildlife and destroying livelihoods, the president has been on the defensive in news conferences and in photo ops in the Gulf.

Last Friday, he walked a white sandy beach with staged, made-to-order BP clean-up crews behind him. He picked up tar balls that washed up onto the shore. Good grief, Mr. President. What about the gunk that's oozing into the Louisiana marshes killing pelicans and other wildlife? Stick your hand into that oily, stinking mess. Scream into the cameras and denounce BP for its negligent acts that are destroying an entire way of life.

When asked about the White House's promise to keep its "boot on the neck" of BP, Obama replied: "I would say that, you know, we don't need to use language like that." Really? Are you kidding me? This is the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Body slams are required. You should be out on the rigs overseeing BP's "top kill" procedure. You should stand next to BP's CEO Tony Hayward, use the bully pulpit, and hold him accountable.

Last week, CBS White House Correspondent Chip Reid asked about the resignation of Elizabeth Birnbaum, head of the federal government's Minerals Management Service. "I found out about her resignation today," Obama replied. Interior Secretary "Ken Salazar has been in testimony throughout the day, so I don't know the circumstances in which this occurred." Jackie Calmes of The New York Times followed up. "How it is that you didn't know about Ms. Birnbaum's resignation/firing." "Come on, Jackie, I don't know," President Obama replied with a "cut-me-some-slack" smile. Mr. President, this is the digital age. You need to operate in real-time.

Even George Bush got it right

On September 12, 2001, President George Bush visited the Pentagon following the terrorist attack a day earlier. Two days later, he was in New York. He stood on the rubble of the World Trade Center. He put his arm around a firefighter, grabbed a megaphone, and shouted to the rescue workers: "I can hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!"
While Bush failed as a president because he took his eye off Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, sent us into the wrong war in Iraq, and did a horrible job handling the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he did show leadership following 9/11. His poll numbers soared.

President Obama, more than a month has gone by since the BP oil spill started. It's a disaster of epic proportions. Your poll numbers are dropping. We really need you to grab a megaphone and prove you're taking charge.