VENICE, La. (AP) - No remedy in sight, President Barack Obama on
Sunday warned of a "massive and potentially unprecedented
environmental disaster" as a badly damaged oil well a mile deep in
the Gulf of Mexico spewed a widening and deadly slick toward
delicate wetlands and wildlife. He said it could take many days to
stop.
Obama rushed to southern Louisiana to inspect forces arrayed
against the oil gusher as Cabinet members said the situation was
grave and insisted the administration was doing everything it
could.
Mindful of the political damage suffered by President George W.
Bush for a slow response after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the same
region, Obama defended his administration's actions, saying it had
been preparing for the worst from "day one" even as it had
"hoped for the best."
The president vowed that the administration, while doing all it
could to mitigate the environmental and economic disaster, would
require well-owner BP America to bear all costs.
"BP is responsible for this leak. BP will be paying the bill,"
Obama, with rain dripping from his face, said in Venice, a Gulf
Coast community serving as a staging area for the response.




Permalink | Comments