Obama and BP say No National Emergency

Obama, the puppet of British Petroleum (BP) refuses to declare a national emergency in the runaway oil spout in the Gulf of Mexico. BP officials and Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen reported this morning that the containment cap that was lowered onto the runway oil well in the Gulf of Mexico is beginning to work. Allen reported, this morning, that engineers had so far been able to bring up about 6,000 barrels of oil (hardly a drop in the bucket), but that the vents on the cap were still open. The admiral said the engineers are hesitant to close the vents because they're afraid that the cap will then clog with hydrates, solids that form from the oil under pressure and in the cold temperature at the 5,000 foot depth. The formation of hydrates fouled an earlier attempt to cap the well about a month ago. In other words, they have no idea whether the latest effort to cap the well will actually succeed—and won't know for several more days. Oil Spills uber alles again.

Estimates for how much oil the cap is collecting range from 5 to 10% of the oil leaking out of the well, although BP officials say their "goal" is to get that to 90%. So far, the latest effort by BP has managed to capture about 1,000 barrels of oil a day—out of an estimated 12-19,000 barrels a day gushing from the well.

Meanwhile, Obama still plays out his role as the British-agent Dr. Spock. He tries to pretend emotions that he does not feel.