Obama's Response: British Petroleum Oil Spill

Capitalism is what made the USA the most powerful nation in the world in less than 140 years. But today, we are slowly but surely losing our status in the world due to unfair free trade practices by other nations that block our exports from reaching their markets and by the exportation of industry operations.

Furthermore, the stability of our economy, the future of our industries and the welfare of our people should be the primary concerns of our Federal government.

If you review the lax reaction of the Bush administration to Katrina and the harm that negligence of the levies by the Federal government caused, it is clear that many businesses were destroyed by lax reaction of the very same administration that supposedly supports economic development.

Clearly, the current British Petroleum major oil leak is still leaking over 200,000 gallons of oil a day and has endangered or contaminated the Delta National Wild Life Refuge and the Breton National Wild Life Refuge as well as the survival of fishing industries and fish markets in those areas (possibly raising the price of canned fish in many areas of the US.) For this type of catastrophe, the Republican leaders apparently are not concerned about business and reverse their views about capitalism.

President Obama gave the correct response because he embraces the ideas of both the Democrats and the Republicans. He called on the US Navy to respond to the crisis and he halted further drilling for oil until all the facts about the BP oil spill are known and evaluated.

The oil spill, if not contained, may have detrimental effects on our fishing industry that extends far beyond the Gulf of Mexico. How easily people forget that the Gulf Stream might carry this oil up the eastern seaboard to Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine hence having devastating effects of the fishing industry and on prices.

This possibility makes it a responsibility of the Federal government. I am glad a Democrat occupies the White House. And I am glad that our government is big enough and flexible enough to respond to national crisis and protect American business and consumers.

The Republican leaders are too narrow minded and inflexible to react appropriately to this crisis. Their response would have adverse affects on the economy because they would do nothing until all of the Gulf of Mexico and the complete eastern seaboard was devastated by the oil spill. And even then their response would be inadequate to protect the industry, the consumers and hence the capitalism that they talk about.

The Republicans want a small government that would be unable to reverse deep recessions, unable to provide the type of government that protects the consumer and unable to provided the type of government that helps businesses in times of crisis like the current oil spill. Less big government is weak government that endangers the consumer and business because it is unwilling to use it's powers to avoid a national crisis.