On ABC News’s Roundtable the question of the Obama administration’s response to the oil spill in the Gulf Coast and the public’s response is posed to the group.
Former Bush strategist Matthew Dowd thinks the public is wondering who’s in charge and who is to be held accountable for the oil spill and the mining disaster in West Virginia. Editor and publisher of The Nation Katrina vanden Heuvel agrees with Dowd and argues that the solution is a government that will regulate companies like BP and Massey who are "serial abusers of workers and of safety regulations."
Vanden Heuvel brings up the first-approved offshore wind farm off of Cape Cod, which she says has a future. Political commentator George Will argues that wind farms are not the solution, but vanden Heuvel says that’s still no reason for offshore drilling to be expanded. "Why should we be relying on what we are now seeing the risks of?…We need to take action," vanden Heuvel says. "I think this White House has the ability…to understand and see the light and take a different stance."
Reverend Al Sharpton agrees with vanden Heuvel, "I think that there’s a challenge here…We see what can happen here, now what do we do about it…I’m not convinced that this president wont [stand up and lead]."
