NY Times tries to goose Obama into doing something about oil spill and economy

The country is frustrated and apprehensive and still waiting for Mr. Obama to put his vision into action.

The president cannot plug the leak or magically clean up the fouled Gulf of Mexico. But he and his administration need to do a lot more to show they are on top of this mess, and not perpetually behind the curve.

It is well within Mr. Obama's power to keep his administration and Congressional Democrats focused on what the economy needs: jobs and stimulus. Voters are anxious about the deficit. But the president needs to tell them the truth - that without more spending the economy could remain weak for a very long time.

Unless Mr. Obama says it, no other politician will. Just the other day, the House passed an unemployment benefits extension from which Democrats, not Republicans, had stripped vital measures that would have helped lots of Americans, but did not close a tax loophole for billionaires.

Americans need to know that Mr. Obama, whose coolness can seem like detachment, is engaged. This is not a mere question of presentation or stagecraft, although the White House could do better at both. (We cringed when he told the "Today" show that he had spent important time figuring out "whose ass to kick" about the spill. Everyone knew that answer on Day 2.)

When will the NY Times recognize that the man they have been promoting so assiduously these last 18 months is an empty suit, that what we have now is what we were bound to get given Obama's limited experience and arrogant demeanor?

Urging Obama to take action is like asking a high school kid to build a rocket to the moon. The president can't take action because he doesn't know what to do except treat these real world problems as a campaign issue and not something requiring executive decision making. He can't pass the buck to Congress, and his administration is so far behind the curve, they knew about a company that makes absorbent booms way back on May 21 but have yet to purchase any of that massive inventory. Instead, they complain they don't have enough boom to contain the spill and the head of the spill effort, Admiral Allen, lies about being told about the private sector boom available to help contain the spill.

It will be another few weeks before the full environmental effect of the spill will become too obvious to hide. When the economies of the Gulf states collapse because of a loss in fishing and tourist dollars, the Times words will seem hollow indeed.