This is a National Emergency

Dear Mr. President:

With all due respect, your administration is beginning to look a lot like that of your predecessor, especially with regards to how you're not handling the catastrophe now unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico.

What is happening down there constitutes a national emergency and, as such, it must require a robust federal response. Many who have been unwavering in their support of your administration--including respected commentators like James Carville, Senator Nelson of Florida, and David Gergen--have been livid over the federal government's seemingly passive response. Many have suggested a number of options that I agree with: miltarize the clean up. Order all available oil tankers to the gulf to begin mopping up the oil spill. Let BP handle the logistics of stopping the leak, but take them off of the clean up. They're clearly not up to the job and they seem, frankly, to be uninterested in the environmental nightmare that they created and that is spreading like wildfire across the Gulf. It threatens to, if not contained, enter sea currents and spread beyond Gulf waters.

Perception is reality in politics and the general perception right now is that you're allowing a private company oversee the debris of a possibly criminal action that they are legally responsible for. Though there is precedent for this with regard to oil spills, it's time for you to cut short the fundraisers and demonstrate to BP and the rest of the nation that you are indeed in charge. Leadership is required here. If it's not demonstrated, and demonstrated soon, this absolute disaster will doom your presidency as well as your chances for a second term. If your advisors are not telling you this, then you need to pull apart the veil of insularity that surrounds you in the White House, roll up your sleeves, and demonstrate that you are, indeed, the elected leader of this country.

Thank you.

Stephen Graff
Woodbury, NJ