Obama defends Gulf oil response

Barack Obama said today he had been talking closely to Gulf Coast fishermen and various experts on BP’s catastrophic oil spill “so I know whose ass to kick”.

The salty words, part of the US president’s recent efforts to telegraph to Americans his engagement with the crisis, came in an interview in Michigan with NBC television’s Today show.

He strongly defended his role in dealing with the crisis that began with the April 20 explosion on a BP-leased oil rig in the Gulf, killing 11 workers.

“I was down there a month ago before most of these talking heads were even paying attention to the Gulf,” Mr Obama told NBC’s Matt Lauer.

“I was meeting with fishermen in the rain talking about what a potential crisis this could be.”

Some have criticised the president for not engaging passionately enough on the spill, even though he has been to the Gulf Coast three times since the disaster, his most recent visit on Friday.

Mr Obama said he had talked to a variety of “experts” on the oil spill in addition to the fishermen.

“I talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers – so I know whose ass to kick,” the president said.

Mr Obama was in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to speak to graduating high school students. NBC aired a portion of the interview early today in advance of the programme.

Mr Obama also launched a salvo at Tony Hayward, BP’s chief executive, over some of his past comments, including saying at one point that “I want my life back” and that the Gulf was “a big ocean” and that “the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to be very, very modest”.

“He wouldn’t be working for me after any of those statements,” Mr Obama said, according to excerpts released by NBC.

Earlier, Mr Obama sought to reassure the nation that the Gulf Coast would “bounce back” from the worst oil spill in US history, but not without time, effort and reimbursement from BP.

Surrounded by Cabinet members, the president said that not only was he confident the crisis would pass but also that the affected area “comes back even stronger than ever”.

He repeated an appeal he made on Friday in the region that BP not “nickel and dime” Gulf coast residents and businesses that have filed claims against the London-based oil giant.

“We are going to insist that money flow quickly and in a timely basis,” he said.