Kicking BP & Taking Names

On Monday, I discussed on the air that it would be interesting to see how the White House begins to attack the BP oil spill issue, sensing that the President was changing his rhetoric.  I didn't think the words "ass" and "kick" would be used a few hours later.

"I want to know whose ass to kick," President Obama said in an interview with NBC News, part of which was aired Monday night.

The remarks came as Mr. Obama explained that he wasn't treating this spill as an academic exercise.

"I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar, we talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick," he told Matt Lauer of the Today Show.

I guess I got my answer.  We have now moved into the Kicking Ass & Taking Names part of this administration.

That must have been the "Bad Cop" version of the President, because earlier in the day, it was the "Good Cop" at the White House, addressing reporters after a Cabinet meeting on the oil leak.

When reporters were let into the room, Mr. Obama started off by defending the federal response, and then zapped BP over the need to improve its claims process.

In other words, it needs to quit acting like FEMA and start sending out money right away to people who have seen their livelihoods get coated in oil.

"We are going to insist that that money flows quickly, in a timely basis, so that you don't have a shrimp processor or a fisherman who's going out of business before BP finally makes up its mind as to whether or not it's going to pay out."

There weren't many phrases that even came close to "so I know whose ass to kick."

Remember, an interesting part of this whole oil spill is how the White House deals with it.  The words of the President and his aides will give some good clues in the weeks ahead, as the Obama Administration tries to get out in front of this problem.

It's always much easier to play offense than defense.  Ass-kicking definitely sounds like you're on offense.
On Monday, I discussed on the air that it would be interesting to see how the White House begins to attack the BP oil spill issue, sensing that the President was changing his rhetoric.  I didn't think the words "ass" and "kick" would be used a few hours later. "I ...