There has been little in the national news this week other than the Gulf oil spill, BP being elevated to Public Enemy No. 1 and the resulting political entertainment in Washington. The biggest story was that BP “agreed” to pony up with the $20 billion (down payment) fund that president Obama demanded, under threat of criminal action and an additional $100 million to pay for workers idled by the presidential decree that halts all deep water drilling in the  Gulf for at least six months.

At a congressional hearing and “See me, I’m on TV” event the next day, Texas congressman Joe Barton (R) apologized to BP President Tony Hayward for the president’s shakedown and the creation of what he called a $20 billion Slush Fund. Committee Democrats leading the inquisition, as well as a few sympathetic Republicans went ballistic over the remark. Barton was forced, under threat of losing his position as top Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee, to apologize for his apology. Barton immediately complied with his most sincere, heartfelt apology for the apology.  Congressional circuses are often like this—good for a laugh.

If it wasn’t a shakedown, then what was it?  Columnist, actor and lawyer Ben Stein wrote about it in The American Spectator this week. “…the action of the President in demanding this immense transfer of the stockholders' wealth without any legislation or court decision is extremely worrisome. We live in a Constitutional Republic. The President's job under the Constitution is to enforce the laws made by the elected Congress. His job is not to create new laws and enforce them all by himself. His job is as magistrate under the Constitution, not as Caudillo. He is not the law. He is supposed to enforce what Congress decides…..These are not the acts of a teacher on Constitutional law. These are the acts of a big city boss or a third world dictator. If you want to know why business has pulled in its horns and hunkered down, and why people at tea parties and elsewhere are scared, look no further than Barack ‘I Am The Law’ Obama.”

These things also have a way of expanding. On a Sunday Morning talk show, Democrat representative from Massachusetts, Edward Markey found out that two other oil companies had a stake in the blown out well and he’s demanding that they be shaken down the same as BP. Anadarko Petroleum, a Texas based company has a 25% stake and Mitsui Oil Exploration, a Japanese firm, has 10%.

On Bloomberg TV’s program, “Political Capital with Al Hunt, Markey said, “They cannot escape responsibility. Both companies should be “contributing to any fund that is constructed for any part of the reconstruction...They are part of the totality of the solution as well as what they hoped to be a very profitable operation.”  It isn’t clear whether Markey is hoping for more money in the “clean-up fund” or just dislikes oil companies in general. I’ve always wondered what it would be like if each state was responsible for producing its own petroleum products. What if Massachusetts could only use oil that it produced itself? Maybe they wouldn’t be so critical of oil producing states.  It’ll never happen, but it makes me smile just thinking about it.

A statement issued by Anadarko CEO James Hackett, on its website says, “Under the terms of the joint operating agreement (JOA) related to the Mississippi Canyon block 252 lease, BP, as operator, owed duties to its co-owners including Anadarko to perform the drilling of the well in a good and workmanlike manner and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. The JOA also provides that BP is responsible to its co-owners for damages caused by its gross negligence or willful misconduct.”  This seems to relieve Anadarko of any liability. Maybe Markey doesn’t know about this—or, like Obama, likes making up the rules as he goes along.

The lesson I take from all this is that this administration doesn’t have a clue how to handle a real emergency. They are long on words, pointing fingers at others and of course wringing money from someone, but when it gets down to action, they are woefully wanting.