The Jury is Out

Some of The New York Times columnists that I especially like—Frank Rich, Maureen Dowd, and Charles Blow—have hammered President Obama this week over his management of the Gulf oil spill. As much as I usually agree with them, I’m not yet ready to condemn the president. I’d like to wait and see if he gets a substantial energy bill passed before I decide that he’s botched this catastrophe not of his making.

Though I was unhappy about his seemingly lackadaisical approach to health care, in the end President Obama achieved ground-breaking legislation that had eluded multiple presidents. Those of us with adult children unlikely to secure health insurance now rest assured that our kids are covered on our plans. Those of us who are self-employed now know that, within a few years, we will be able to afford a decent plan. And those of us plagued by pre-existing conditions can no longer be discriminated against by insurance companies. All of this, and more, under President Obama’s leadership.

In his speech last week, the president said that he would not accept legislative inaction as a result of the oil spill. Let’s hold him—and Congress—to his word. And remember that years of regulatory lapses under the previous administration led to the calamity which Obama now inherits.