This Politico article says the Gulf oil spill is threatening Obama’s “reputation for competence.” The writer and I must be living on different planets.

Let’s keep in mind a partial list of Obama’s accomplishments.  The Health Care bill.  The Copenhagen climate summit.  The 2016 Olympics.  The Economic Stimulus.  10% unemployment.  Cash for Clunkers.  The auto industry bailouts.  Cash for caulkers.  Taxpayer funded abortion.  The Christmas Day bomber.  Janet Napolitano.  The attempted trial of terrorists in New York.  The attempted closure of Gitmo.  The attempted signing of FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act).  Need I go on?

This man’s election was a potential disaster for the country and the sooner the electorate ushers him and his enablers out of office, the better.

~~John Cronin~~

By GLENN THRUSH & MIKE ALLEN

The ferocious oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is threatening President Barack Obama’s reputation for competence, just as surely as it endangers the Gulf ecosystem.

So White House aides are escalating their efforts to reassure Congress and the public in the face of a slow-motion catastrophe, even though it’s not clear they can bring it under control anytime soon.

“There is no good answer to this,” one senior administration official said. “There is no readily apparent solution besides one that could take three months. … If it doesn’t show the impotence of the government, it shows the limits of the government.”

Hope and change was Obama’s headline message in 2008, but those atop his campaign have always said that it was Obama’s cool competence — exemplified by his level-headed handling of the financial meltdown during the campaign’s waning days — that sealed the deal with independents and skeptical Democrats. The promise of rational, responsive and efficient government is Obama’s brand, his justification for bigger and bolder federal interventions and, ultimately, his rationale for a second term.

So there was a “little bit of panic,” according to one administration official, when White House aides sensed the oil spill narrative getting away from them last week. The White House was particularly alarmed by the rash of stories comparing the Obama administration’s initial response with President George W. Bush’s sluggish response in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Hat tip to one of our readers Jerald for this one.  In light of our most recent Podcast, no prizes for guessing who gains from the Toyota recalls : Craig Edwards

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration’s top transportation official sharply criticized Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday for dragging its feet on safety concerns over its gas pedals, suggesting the automaker was “a little safety deaf” to mounting evidence of problems.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told The Associated Press that federal safety officials had to “wake them up” to the seriousness of the safety issues that eventually led Toyota to recall millions of popular brands like Camry and Corolla. That included a visit to Toyota’s offices in Japan to convince them to take action.
“They should have taken it seriously from the very beginning when we first started discussing it with them,” LaHood told AP. “Maybe they were a little safety deaf.”

LaHood also said the government was considering civil penalties for Toyota over its handling of the recalls but declined to elaborate. The potential fines were first reported by the Detroit News. The largest auto industry fine came in 2004, when General Motors paid $1 million for responding too slowly on a recall of nearly 600,000 vehicles over windshield wiper failure.

Read More at AP/Yahoo