Big Dogs Weblog

Why Bother Tony Hayward For Taking A Day Off?

by Big Dog on Jun 20, 2010 at 06:08 Political

Unlike Barack Obama, BP CEO Tony Hayward has been in the Gulf since very early on in the spill and has been there nearly every day since. He and his company have a lot to answer for and they certainly have a lot of the blame for what happened with the oil rig and the events that led to the spill. None of this is in dispute.

However, the company has been working around the clock to try to get the leak stopped. They have run into problems along the way but they are trying nonetheless. The federal government, led by Barack Obama, claims to have been on the scene since day one and to have been fully engaged but this is a blatant lie.

The regime has made the disaster much worse than it should have been by a slow response and by refusing help from people around the world who have experience. The leak is ongoing but we could have had equipment managing the spill in the Gulf in short order if Obama had taken the steps a true leader would have.

Instead, he did very important things like play golf about a dozen times, host Paul McCartney, attend fund raisers and frolic around like child all while the situation in the Gulf, the one Obama said he was responsible for and on top of, got worse.

Tony Hayward of BP has been made a villain in all of this and has been beaten like a piñata even though he has been working here since not long after the incident. If Obama, who claims NOW not to be Superman, can’t suck it up with a straw (though I understand he did well with that as a teen) then what is Hayward supposed to do? Nevertheless, Hayward is the one who gets beaten up as he was in his appearance before Congress where he was accused, among other things, of not answering questions.

Who can blame him? His company is sure to get sued and what he says there might be used in the suits. Just say little to nothing until the court cases are settled and if Congress does not like that then so be it.

Hayward’s company has already stated that it will pay all legitimate claims. It has been forced through coercion to put aside 20 billion dollars that some US government schlep will dole out (watch for this to be a political slush fund for the well connected) even though his company is only on the hook for 75 MILLION dollars.

Under the law Congress enacted after the Exxon Valdez incident, an oil company is required to pay the costs of clean up and up to 75 MILLION dollars in claims. THIS IS THE LAW.

Now Congress wants to pass a law to raise that cap and make it retroactive to cover the BP spill even though that appears to be a violation of the US Constitution (Article I, Section 9, Para Clause 3) though that might be a muddied argument depending on whether the issue is considered criminal or civil.

In any event, Tony Hayward was relieved of his duties in the Gulf and was sent back to England. Let me iterate, HE IS NO LONGER IN CHARGE OF THE RESPONSE IN THE GULF AND HAS BEEN SENT BACK HOME TO ENGLAND.

So Mr Hayward is back in England and decides to go to some yachting event with the other rich people (I suppose).

Just when it seemed Gulf residents couldn’t get any more outraged about the massive oil spill fouling their coastline, word came Saturday that BP’s CEO was taking time off to attend a glitzy yacht race in England.

Tony Hayward’s latest public relations gaffe didn’t sit well with people in the U.S. who have seen their livelihoods ruined by the massive two-month oil spill.

“Man, that ain’t right. None of us can even go out fishing, and he’s at the yacht races,” said Bobby Pitre, 33, who runs a tattoo shop in Larose, La. “I wish we could get a day off from the oil, too.” My Way News

This ticked off a lot of people in America (as evidenced in the quote). The fact that Hayward went to the event was not missed by the Obama regime.

I find it interesting that Obama has played golf about a dozen times since the oil spill began and played golf around the same time that Hayward, WHO IS NO LONGER IN CHARGE OF THE GULF RESPONSE, was at a yacht race. Obama even attended a baseball game the night before. Why is Hayward the bad guy for going to a yacht race AFTER he was relieved of his duties but Obama can participate in many sporting events (among many other superfluous items) and he is still supposedly in charge (at least that is what he keeps saying)?

I would be just as happy if they relieved Obama of his duties and he went out and played golf. In fact, if he steps down he can play even more.

But people need to stop whining because Tony Hayward, who is by no means a saint, goes to a yacht race after he was relieved of his duties and focus more on Obama who is supposed to be in charge but seems to live on a golf course.

Never surrender, never submit.

[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]

Tags: bp, golf course, gulf oil leak, Obama, tony hayward, yacht race