Politics is the "art of the possible", and unfortunately what's possible is usually very inadequate. Take Barack Obama's unashamedely populist response to the BP oil leak with all its talk of "finding an ass to kick" and firing Tony Hayward. Somewhat unbelievably it took Sarah Palin to hint at the wider issues that may have contributed to the disaster. As some of you will have seen, Palin blames "extreme environmentalists" for the leak, arguing that by preventing onshore and shallow water drilling to protect the environment, the "extreme environmentalists" have forced the oil companies into the treacherous deep waters. A more balanced, less blame-focused view is here.
Now just as giving a monkey a typewriter and an infinite amount of time will get you the entire works of Shakespeare, a significant proportion of the World's 6 billion people being loud-mouthed bigots will result in one of them occassionally saying something that is at least partially close to being nearly worthwhile. The difficult truth is that the US needs oil and buys it by the million barrelload - they can boycott British Petroleum all they want, but who was the oil for? North Korea? A power station that Osama Bin Laden uses to recharge his camcorder?
So Sarah, well done for using an economic argument, although I suspect that the "extreme environmentalists" would argue that perhaps even offshore drilling wouldn't be necessary if a few of your countrymen discovered that you can use your feet for walking as well as pushing the gas pedal. I wonder if she'll take the argument to its logical conclusion and point out that countries like Mexico and Venezuela are shutting out the oil majors and letting their output decline so it's also their fault and the US should therefore invade them to ensure energy and Florida beach security. Then they can parachute in the knowledgeable oil firms like good ol' Halliburton, who obviously aren't responsible for the spill and coincidentally increased political contributions this week, and get the oil and dollars flowing.
But Mr Obama, this is all too complicated for a populist like you. You would have to tell people it was their fault and they might have to change the way they live. No, best to blame the foreigners and leave it at that.
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