Barack Obama Compares BP Oil Spill To 9/11

This BP oil spill is out of control:

President Obama, in a stark and striking comparison, said the devastating impact of the BP disaster on the national psyche “echoes 9/11.”

The endlessly spewing oil rig off the Gulf Coast – like the terror attacks of 2001 – will influence the nation’s future long after the crisis passes, the President said in a provocative Oval Office interview with Politico.

“In the same way that our view of our vulnerabilities and our foreign policy was shaped profoundly by 9/11, I think this disaster is going to shape how we think about the environment and energy for many years to come,” Obama added in language that underscored his new sense of urgency about the disaster. The interview, conducted Friday, was released Sunday – and sparked an instant debate among some 9/11 family members. Obama wasn’t the first to draw parallels between the terrorist attacks and the still-spreading Gulf of Mexico spill, with columnists and others describing the disaster as an “environmental 9/11.”

Obama’s take on the crisis came as he prepared to give BP an ultimatum this week: Show me the money – or else. Obama will deliver a prime-time speech tomorrow and face down BP executives a day later to show them, and his legion of critics, that he means business.

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