Topic category:  Other/General

Americans are shocked and outraged that it has taken President Obama well into the second month of the gulf oil disaster to start organizing federal agencies to respond. President Obama's leadership in failing to respond to the facts that oil was headed to gulf coast shores is a disaster in itself.

Americans watch Obama for a month play the blame game on BP when he should have been preparing federal agencies to gear up with supplies to stop the oil flows from reaching gulf shore beaches and shoreline.

President Obama said he has been in charge of the gulf coast oil disaster from day one. Americans watched President Obama for weeks, going on television stating it's all BP's fault; and BP will pay for it. It will not cost the American taxpayers one dime. It's a flashback to President Obama's promises about his healthcare bill cost all over again.

Under President Obama's failed leadership, Americans have watched as oil plumes have flowed at- will, non-stop and washing up on gulf coast beaches and shorelines of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama; and now Florida beaches and shore line is getting slammed with oil. Now experts are saying the oil disaster will loop around Florida and that most of the Atlantic East Coast with be hit with the gulf oil slug.

Under President Obama's lack of leadership and his failure to contain the spreading of the gulf oil disaster it's now well on it's way to growing globally.

Americans are fed up with President Obama and the national main stream media crying it's all BP's fault blame game, while Americans clearly see and know Obama and federal agencies under his control and leadership were in no way prepared to deal with an off-shore deepwater oil rig disaster.

No federal agencies under Obama seen fit to have a large supply of oil booms on hand so they could deal with an off-shore oil disaster. Weeks after the oil rig fire was over, some oil booms were found in a storage building by chance. Now Americans are watching TV reports showing oil booms washed up on shorelines with no one around supervising their upkeep or any oil skimming boats or workers in the area.

Obama along with his White House press secretary look like MTV brake dancing groups before the national press with all the twisting, turning, dodging, and rolling of the eyes when hit with questions about what are you and the federal government doing about the gulf coast oil disaster. Obama said he was shutting down all new oil drilling in the U.S.. again killing thousands of more real jobs and putting Commander Thad Allen in charge. Then President Obama was off to another photo-video op to add to his presidential library.

There are two very different and distinct disaster issues on-going in the gulf. One is the oil well flow on-going, non-stop disaster. The second issue is when the oil reaches the gulf coast shoreline causing another human and ecological disaster. Obama's failed leadership in stopping the oil from reaching our coastline in massive amounts is not setting well with Americans.

President Obama should have ordered BP to stay focused on closing off the oil well, nothing else. Obama had weeks to prepare for stopping the oil flows from coming ashore, Obama should have activated federal agencies in the first two weeks to the gulf coast to organize coastal, civilian workers. Obama should have activated the National Guard with their assets and set up a command operation post prepared to support federal agencies and workers with supplies to do what ever it took to keep the oil from reaching our shoreline and natural wetlands; this did not happen.

Americans are fed up with Obama and the national press blame game toward BP. They want leadership from their President and for him to come up with a plan to contain the oil movement and put boots on the ground with supplies to do the job. Below are some questions I think President Obama should answer:

1. Mr. President, why was there, and still are, a severe shortage of oil booms for deployment for this offshore oil disaster?

2. Mr. President, how often does the Federal Environmental Protection Agency run safety checks on oil rig blowout prevention or is there a requirement that calls for timely safety checks?

3. Mr. President, has the Federal Environmental Protection Agency ever conducted oil well capping tests on deep water oil rigs to see if present capping technologies would actually work in case of an emergency?

4. Mr. President, why did the U.S. Coast Guard not follow oil rig safety, fire-fighting guidelines in their continued pumping of tons of water, onto a fire engulfed oil rig for two days causing it to collapse, well after the fact no human could be alive on the rig?

5. Mr. President, why are there no federal government representatives deployed throughout gulf state coastal communities, hiring citizens to man boats to maintain oil booms that were deployed? Case in point, all oil booms shown on news reports are seen washed up on shorelines and no one around overseeing or maintaining them.

6. Mr. President, why is there only one wildlife clean up station in operation for this gulf coast disaster covering hundreds of miles, why only one Mr. president?

7. Mr. President, where is FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) with much needed supplies for coastal communities to use for oil cleanup, where are the federal transportation points for workers and distribution points from Louisiana to Florida?

8. Mr. President, if you're in charge, why did you allow the oil to reach our natural wetlands?

9. Mr. President, why are you allowing BP to use toxic chemical oil dispersants when there are more safer ways available ?

10. Mr. President, are you going to order BP to change over to non-toxic chemicals for containing oil plumes throughout the gulf coast seeing how this disaster will be on-going for months?

11. Mr. President, are you going to propose yet another federal agency to oversee offshore drilling, seeing how the present federal agencies are not doing their job for Americans?

12. Mr. President, Americans see that federal agencies operating under your leadership were not prepared to handle a deep-water oil well disaster, what would you like to say to the American people?

President Obama and his White House staff clearly are not burning the midnight oil, no pun intended, nor are they racking their brain figuring out how to get federal supplies to gulf coast citizens so they can take action themselves to save their communities and way of life.

President Obama does however; maintain his daily flights across the country to high-dollar campaign dinners, playing golf and photo op's with sports teams. President Obama could not even find time to meet with Arizona state governor, concurring the states little border problem, but in the end he did take thirty minutes to sit down and talk with the governor. Now there's a real spotlight on Obama's presidential leadership for you as to how he deals with national issues.

Obama's campaign promise to Americans was, he would unite Americans with his presidential leadership. Obama made it a point his first days in office to go on national TV to denounce police for arresting one of his personal friends. Obama then went on national TV and denounce Arizona state government and its citizens for passing an illegal immigrant bill to off set their financial crisis and crime wave. In doing this Obama then allowed other state governments to call for boycotting Arizonans while they like all other state governments are dealing with an economic crisis.

Under President Obama's un-presidential leadership we now have Americans and states divided against each other and many more gulf states about to lose their economies and way of life.

Now Americans have a front row seat in a man-made national crisis to see how Obama's presidential leadership will play out in real time, as they watch one gulf state after another meet its economic doom because all they're seeing and hearing from President Obama is; it's all BP's and President Bush's fault, but I have been in charge from day one.

Mike Graham
United Native America (Founder)

Biography - Mike Graham

Mike Graham is a citizen of the Oklahoma Cherokee Nation, a retired service connected disabled Army veteran. Founded United Native America in 1993 to form a national group to take action on American Indian issues. The groups main issue is to bring about a federal national holiday for Native Americans. United Native America's motto is, "Standing up for America and the American Indian community."

Graham has been a guest speaker on national and international radio talk shows to include television programs concerning Indian community issues, his reports on Indian issues have been published in newspapers all over America. He has traveled across the country discussing issues with Indian nation leaders, he has presented Indian issues at college's and high schools.