As for oil industry - 'Mission Accomplished,' Mr. President?

By John Lillpop

This is not to suggest that any credible evidence has surfaced which would cause one to conclude that President Obama actually conspired to bankrupt BP and the oil industry.

But, it is curious, is it not, that nearly 50 days lapsed before the president really focused on the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history?

This response time from the man who dropped everything and jetted off to Copenhagen just to pitch Chicago as host to the 2016 Olympics, a pitch that ultimately failed.

Indeed, when it came to the possibility of being seen as a conquering hero just for showing up and giving a speech, there was no hesitation, no delay, no dithering.

Americans must be suspicious and wary of any candidate who proposes to use the power of government to "bankrupt" private enterprise.

Candidate Obama did exactly that during his campaign for the presidency. Obama said the following in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle in January of 2008.

Obama's words:

"So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted.

"That will also generate billions of dollars that we can invest in solar, wind, biodiesel and other alternative energy approaches.

"The only thing I've said with respect to coal, I haven't been some coal booster. What I have said is that for us to take coal off the table as a (sic) ideological matter as opposed to saying if technology allows us to use coal in a clean way, we should pursue it.

"So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can. It's just that it will bankrupt them."

Everyone knows that liberals loath the oil industry and would do damn near anything to destroy oil as an energy option in America.

How much of a leap, then, is it to wonder if Obama's lame performance on the Gulf oil crisis was programmed incompetence, orchestrated to ruin an industry that the left hates?

The burning question: Does the bankrupting of BP and big oil earn Obama a "Mission Accomplished"? banner from the left?