Two different and potentially damaging reports have been released which paint a pretty pathetic picture of the behind-the-scenes action of the Obama administration. The National Oil Spill Commission released preliminary findings yesterday from its investigation into BP’s oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The report finds that the White House blocked efforts by scientists to publicly reveal their estimate of the worse case scenario, as well as discounting the amount of oil released and how much of it had actually degraded. “By initially underestimating the amount of oil flow and then, at the end of the summer, appearing to underestimate the amount of oil remaining in the Gulf, the federal government created the impression that it was either not fully competent to handle the spill or not fully candid with the American people about the scope of the problem,” the report says.
And The Los Angeles Times has a report out that shows the Obama administration knew that they did NOT have all the facts when they decided to fire Agriculture official, Shirley Shirrod, over a video that unfairly painted her as a racist, newly released e-mails show. Administrative talking points designed to defend Sherrod’s ouster acknowledged that the department had “not seen the entire video” of Sherrod’s speech, but it seems the truth never mattered anyway. Despite repeated requests by Sherrod to watch the entire video and complaints that she was being scapegoated; protecting the president from negative political fallout was apparrently the administration’s primary concern. “Comments made by Mrs. Sherrod, even if taken out of context, undermine that trust.” So truth be damned, the USDA officials circled the wagons, according to a timeline compiled by Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. “The deputy expressed concern that Sherrod was attacking the administration on TV and that our jobs as political appointees is to protect the president,” the timeline said. So much for protecting the people, a peak behind the curtain proves that it’s ALL about protecting the president from political fall-out.
