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Lots of people are outraged at BP CEO Tony Hayward for going to a yacht race, but not at President Obama for going golfing. This is indeed impressive hypocrisy.

Now, if you actually asked most pundits, they would, I think, admit that there is no actual reason why Hayward shouldn’t go to the damn yacht race. The problem, they’ll say, was not that he was neglecting actual duties, so much as that he was “sending the wrong message” or “it made him look bad.”

Well, yes; because the pundits and commentariat decree that it makes him look bad. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and an example of the extent to which the media creates its own reality.

Of course, the White House itself didn’t help matters by criticizing Hayward. Rahm Emmanuel himself used the “it’s a bad PR decision” line. I guess it is, but only because you all have decided to make it into one.

Let me make it clear, by the way, that there’s no reason Obama shouldn’t be golfing either. The fact is, there is nothing that either Hayward or Obama need to do that they cannot do from a yacht race or a golf course. I suspect that at their level, almost all of their “oversight” can be done using cell phones.

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640

 “The benefits of drilling accrue to a private company, but the risks of that drilling accrue to we the American people.” says Maddow.

I like Maddow, but she’s waaayy oversimplifying here: the benefits do not accrue just to private companies. They also accrue to… wait for it… the American people, at least the ones who use oil-fueled transportation, or in some way benefit from the activities of the people who do. I think that’s everybody.

Progressives like Maddow prefer to ignore this fact, and act as if companies are mindlessly drilling oil to magically make money for themselves at the expense of others. But that’s not the case, and acting like it is and ruthlessly punishing BP will not get the job done.

Look, I agree BP needs to pay a price. But there’s a certain unthinking vindictiveness in the liberals’ rhetoric that disturbs me. They really seem to view oil companies as 100% pure evil, that provide no service, but merely enrich themselves.

Mock me if you like, but I’m one of the few people who thinks Obama is handling this situation in precisely the right way. He’s taking a measured and considered approach to the situation, and properly recognizing the complexities involved.

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Well, that’s not good. And more bad news: Hurricane season starts on Tuesday.

UPDATE: This reminds me of why weather control is so important. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Whoever figures it out first will rule the planet. Alas, the Chinese government is making progress on this, while we can’t even plug a damn pipe.

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This whole oil spill thing gets worse all the time, and they just noticed some “huge oil plumes“.

What I want to know is: What is the worst case scenario here? What is the maximum amount of oil which can possibly spill into the Gulf from this? So far, I’ve found this:

“The spill, currently spewing 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) of sweet crude oil into the Gulf every day, could grow up to 12 times the rate of current low-end estimates.Rates that high would cause an already disastrous scenario to become a truly catastrophic event.”

 But I’m having trouble figuring out what that means, or what the difference is between a disaster and a catastrophe.