Avatar to the Rescue?

OPED: By Jeff Mudgett, co-founder and former Editor of the Maritime Executive Magazine

(The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and not necessarily those involved with the management of this publication)

Mr. President, please tell the American people you were only kidding; that it was just a joke. It can’t be true, can it, that you’ve sought the advice of a Hollywood director about how best to seal the gushing oil well? You should know this makes no sense whatsoever; even your strongest supporters like Maureen Dowd, Chris Matthews, Jon Stewart and James Carville, are joining the ‘others’ and demanding that you begin demonstrating leadership in the face of this unprecedented environmental catastrophe.

The time is now for you to show national leadership Mr. Obama. This is a national disaster of epic proportions! Even you have said so. Use all the powers at your disposal Mr. President, and stop worrying about being re-elected. No more parties in New York, fundraisers in Las Vegas or vacations until this thing is handled. Our nation needs leadership now more than ever, so measure up and don’t let this be your defining moment; your “Katrina.”

Show us the leadership you promised and, by that, I don’t mean any more speeches beginning with, “I will not rest until this crisis is over.” Talk is cheap Mr. President, besides you’ve used that phrase five times in your first year and a half in office. Instead, consider taking action. Begin by ordering the CIA to crisscross the planet to find the best minds in the world concerning this deepwater disaster; the same men that have capped similar deepwater oil spills over the last ten years. Send them to Nigeria, Russia and the Persian Gulf. Once they’ve identified the experts, order them to bring them back, ‘kidnap them if you have to,’ but bring them back to the Gulf of Mexico and the White House where they are desperately needed.

Bring these experts to the ‘Oil Spill Command Post’ deep in the basement of the White House and hold them there for as long as you need them until this crisis is solved. Put this command post together close to where you live, so that the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing at night is connected to the day’s operations trying to cap the well and contain the spill. That will allow you, for twenty-four hours a day, to stay in touch with the nightmare in the Gulf of Mexico. At this point in time, nothing is more important than your hands-on management of this spill.

Next, order the FBI—those guys and gals with the guns and badges—to visit the homes of the C.E.O.’s of Exxon, Chevron and Shell Oil. Have them request, summon, or arrest these top oil executives if necessary, whatever it takes, but bring them as well to the White House. Feed them, house them, buy entertainment for them, hell, offer the one that can solve the problem, one hundred million dollars, but let each of them know they will be your connection to what is happening above the well and at the bottom of the sea. Declare eminent domain over their expertise and intellect. We all reside on this earth – they, at least, owe us this.

Declare to the Country that from this moment on every decision made in the Gulf of Mexico will need to be cleared by you and your experts before it is acted upon- with no exceptions. The reason for this is simple: we don’t trust British Petroleum with our national treasures. Our trust was given to you when you were elected. It’s time for you to demonstrate you fully understand our commitment, and earn our trust back.

Mr. President, you need to fly to Houston and spend five minutes on the tarmac and have a ‘heart to heart’ or ‘man to man’ with Tony Hayward, the BP CEO. You know the kind of chat I’m talking about: when a boss puts their arm around the shoulders of a subordinate and whispers in their ear so that only he and they will ever know what was said. And, it should go just about like this:

Hayward: “Yes sir Mr. President, you wanted to see me.”

You: “Tony, I want you’re complete cooperation on this thing. Stop worrying about criminal charges; there won’t be any and, if there are, I’ll pardon you if you are convicted… our natural resources are far more important than whether or not you spend any time in jail. But, in return for my promise, I need everything you’ve got, and I mean everything. Don’t you dare hold back on me Tony.”

Hayward, eyes as wide as saucer plates, “Yes sir Mr. President, but...”

You, cutting him off: “Oh, and one other thing my fine English friend, the next time you tell me anything that even remotely smells like a lie, I will see to it that you suffer from every power at my disposal as President of the United States………. Do I make myself clear?”

Hayward: (nods)

That should be sufficient Mr. Obama.

Finally, Mr. President, while all this is going on, keep two things in mind: first, it will do us no good if B.P. shares continue to plummet eventually causing the bankruptcy of this corporation. There may be some excitement in the thrill of that kill, but the taxpayers will then be forced to pay for the clean-up. In order to prevent this error, you need to turn down the unwise banter on Capitol Hill, which is filling the air-waves.

Second, at this very moment the C.E.O. of every major oil company is considering whether to drill or not to drill for oil. By now, they already know that the world knows nothing can be done if there is another similar emergency; and, right now, every one of them is engaged in deepwater drilling. This knowledge on their part establishes the state of mind required to impose criminal charges and punitive damages. Being prudent business people, they will have no choice but to immediately cease drilling and producing offshore oil. And, when they do, the price of oil will skyrocket, and a second Great Depression will begin. You need to make sure that does not happen. Forget the political posturing for now and demonstrate the leadership we all know you are capable of. Make this your greatest moment, but great or not, do something!

Jeff can be reached at [email protected]