Post Updated Below – Obama Relieves McChrystal of his Post

In his June 23 “Special Comment” regarding Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s comments to Rolling Stone – over which, McChrystal reportedly intends to tender his resignation — the host of MSNBC‘s Countdown posited that President Obama should reject it:

…Sir, you should take General McChrystal’s resignation, and fold it up, and put it in your top drawer, and tell him that that is where it will remain, and that as of now you are not accepting it. Correct.

He tenders his resignation. You tell him to get back to Afghanistan because he’s not getting out of this morass he helped create, and tell him to make sure we get the surge troops withdrawn on time or faster if he can. And then, Sir, you sit back and watch the political world’s collective jaw drop.

Olbermann then lays down some history of presidents past and how they reacted when Generals Behave(d) Badly.

Uncertain if Obama should/will heed the advice, but Olbermann makes a persuasive argument.  Watch:

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Update via PoliticusUSA – President Obama Relieves General McChrystal of His Post:

McChrystal arrived at White House ready to tender his resignation Wednesday at 10:00 AM. At 1:15 PM, MSNBC announced that President Obama relieved General McChrystal of the Afghanistan war which McChrystal was commanding. MSNBC is reporting that General Petraeus has been chosen to replace General McChrystal as commander of the Afghanistan forces… (Read More)

Following Obama’s prime time address to the nation from the Oval Office, Jon Stewart offers us a reminder that energy independence has been a presidential priority for quite some time:

“Counting President Obama, he last eight presidents have gone on television and promised to move America towards an energy-independent future.”

Stewart’s hilarious, yet sad, commentary should serve as a reminder to us all:  Presidents can only lend rhetorical weight to the nation’s goals.  Without support from the electorate, they’re just words.

I included this TRMS clip in my June 2 Care2 post regarding media calls for Obama to show more emotion in dealing with present Gulf spill, but I felt it was worthy of reposting here.

From the transcript:

[T]he stuff that did not work back then is the same stuff that hasn’t worked now.  Same busted blowout preventer, same ineffective berm, same underwater plumes, same toxic dispersants, same failed containment domes, same junk shot, same top kill – it’s all the same technology.

The Ixtoc well, which couldn’t be plugged for nine months, was in roughly 200 feet of water.  Now, in 2010, we’re using the same exact techniques to try to plug a well that leaking in 5,000 feet of water…

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It’s worth noting that lessons of the Ixtoc I disaster – the largest oil spill in history – haven’t been lost on everyone.  Canada, for example, requires oil drillers to demonstrate their ability to drill relief wells “in the same season as the original well…” according to a source cited by NPR.

Incidentally, the NPR post also illustrates that BP “sought to ease Canada’s policy” within a month of the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf.  According to a June 4 Vancouver Sun post, BP’s lobbying effort was effective as the relatively modest precautionary language is absent from newly released regulatory policy.

As it stands, the recent “top hat” mechanism deployed by BP captures some of the oil flowing into the Gulf.  Their relief wells — two are being drilled because, as was the case with the Ixtoc I, initial efforts aren’t always successful — slowed by a lack of preparedness, won’t reach the necessary depth until August.

Related Reading:

• Reuters, May 24 – BP’s Gulf battle echoes monster ’79 Mexico oil spill

And, unrelated to the Ixtoc, but here’s some spot on satire, if you fancy it:

• The Onion, June 7 – Massive flow of bullshit continues to gush from BP Headquarters