Obama On Oil Spill: "Furious"
By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jun 4, 2010 4:00PM
As heartbreaking photos of the oil spill's effect on the wildlife of the Gulf Coast made the rounds on the internet and the spill itself stretches even further east, President Obama took to Larry King to address the situation. Calling it "unprecedented," Obama also expressed outrage at the situation, saying, "You know, I am furious at this entire situation, because this is an example of where somebody didn't think through the consequences of their actions. And it is imperiling not just a handful of people, this is - this is imperiling an entire way of life and an entire region for, potentially, years." The federal government has also charged BP $69 million for clean-up costs.
Obama also canceled an upcoming trip to Indonesia, Australia and Guam as he focuses on the catastrophe in the Gulf. Oil has reached barrier islands along the Mississippi and Alabama coasts and is making its way east off the Florida panhandle. Meanwhile, Mother Jones' Mac McClelland spoke with a BP worker who claimed that BP knew the "top kill" effort was failing despite claims to the contrary and spoke of the worsening conditions at Elmer's Island Wildlife Refuge. And on the home front, our own Aaron Cynic stopped by last night's Seize BP protest and reported it was about the same size as the last one.