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We now know, with some certaintly that Bush appointed, Oil and Coal Industry friendy MMS administrators ignored regulations and gave broad passes to BP, Massey and other companies. They failed to implement and require meeting of regulations in place.
Obama has still not removed these miscreant, if not criminal appointees, from their jobs. It's very, tragically late, but better late than never.
President Obama should appoint a special team to identify and remove the remaining Bush political appointees and the former political appointees who, near the end of Bush's disastrous presidency, were shifted, inappropriately to civil service positions.
That team should identify foxes guarding the henhouse, including foxes appointed by Obama, like Ken Salazar, who should also go.
flickr image by sea turtle
The American people were betrayed by George W. Bush appointment of thousands of industry-friendly foxes guarding henhouses, happily following Bush administration policies to not require adherence to regulations.
The Obama administration, by failing to clear out the Bush rats nest, also betrayed the American people's trust. I'm not talking about just oil drilling and coal mining. The Justice Department is still loaded with toxic Bush time bombs Eric Holder has failed to remove and or replace and I am sure there are thousands more spread throughout all all the agencies that are supposed to protect we the people.
Obama should immediately set up the team I've described above. The hue and cry for more and stronger action is finally rising in response to Obama's totally inadequate response to the BP-Congress Gulf oil catastrophy. Obama must take complete charge of it.
That means taking over from BP, but still retaining BP's resources. (Of course, in an emergency he can do that, as many presidents have done before.) It means he should clear out the foxes guarding the henhouse, starting with MMS. These actions will gain him political support among the American people, something he can surely use.
While he is doing the cleanup in the oil and coal areas he should spread the purge of the foxes throughout the rest of government. Each fox is another Gulf disaster waiting to be allowed to happen through failure to apply legislated regulations.
The American people put Obama into office because he offered change. At the least, he should be clearing out the worst dregs of the Bush appointees and he should do it very fast and soon.
