I didn’t vote Conservative at the General Election and my political views are more aligned to Lib-Dem/Labour; but Prime Minister David Cameron has just risen in my estimation by refusing to engage in slurs against President Obama over his criticism of BP. President Obama has my sympathies – I felt he had been handling the situation quite well; but ever since he was elected as the first black President of the US, he has been subjected to a highly biased and overly-critical US media that seems to find fault in whatever he does.
The BP saga is no different. Imagine my amazement when during a TV interview, some knucklehead journalist actually accused the President of being “too cool, calm and collected” over the whole affair. Obama sensibly responded by saying that displaying anger would not solve the problem.
But as tensions have risen and the American public has expressed anger at the environmental, human and economic costs, Obama’s cool exterior has understandably given way to irritation as he made public his feelings about BP.
Then in wades London Mayor Boris Johnson with a big wooden spoon, stirring things up and overstepping the boundaries of his position. To suggest that President Obama was being “anti-British” by publicly criticizing BP’s CEO, Tony Hayward, for the worst oil spill in history smacks of imperialism.
What did he expect the US President to do – give him a pat on the back? And the BBC is also guilty of encouraging viewers this morning to text in their anti-Obama sentiments and adding fuel to the fire.
We knew that relations between Britain and the US would be very much cooler than the harmonious relationship enjoyed under the previous government. But I hadn’t expected things to deteriorate quite so rapidly under the present one. Under the circumstances David Cameron is wise not be drawn into this crazy spat.
I too have a pension fund that has probably shrunk considerably due to the £50 billion that has been wiped off its value since the oil spill began; but that should not stop BP from being held to account for the astronomical damage it has caused through the oil spill. It even strikes me as somewhat immoral to suggest that financial interests should come before the environment.
So Obama should continue to “kick ass,” Boris Johnson should put a sock in it and David Cameron should continue to stay calm and take the sensible and objective approach to this diplomatic mess.
He got the approach just right this morning when he said:
“I completely understand the US government’s frustration because it’s catastrophic for the environment. BP needs to do everything it can to clear up the situation. “
