OBAMA'S GULF OIL CRISIS EQUALS CARTER'S IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS - THE SUNDAY COMMENTARY

We have now passed the two month mark since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and the beginning of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. More than sixty days have come and gone with the disaster only growing and in fact is no closer to ending than it was on its very first day. The well is still spewing thousands of gallons of oil everyday. The clean up effort at the hands of Barack Obama is a total disaster with new failings being reported on a daily basis.

The oil spill despite the best efforts by the Obama administration to take the spotlight off of Obama's disaster in the Gulf, is dominating every newspaper, talking heads show, daily and evening news shows and news/political commentary shows on every channel. Obama has tried to take the focus off the spill and twist it to his liberal energy agenda in a address from the Oval Office and just as with his handling of the oil spill itself the address failed miserably.

Many have tried to compare the oil spill, at least initially, to the problems that Bush had with Katrina. Then as the scope of the spill and the utter failure of the Obama administration in responding to the crisis escalated, most realized including the residents of Louisiana, hardest hit by both Katrina and the oil, that the oil crisis far exceeded Katrina both in its impact to the region and its failings by the government particularly Barack Obama.

As each day of the spill drags on with Obama promising to take care of the problem and the evidence showing that his handling of it is only getting worse rather than better we are witnessing a repeat of history from another failed President and a crisis which not only damaged our Nation's prestige and standing in the world but was the final blow and the end of a failed Presidency. Jimmy Carter and the Iran Hostage crisis.

For some who may not be familiar with what took place in those dark days from November 1979 until the crisis ended on the day that Ronald Reagan was inaugurated President on January 20, 1981, following is a brief synopsis of the crisis that ended the Carter Presidency.

On November 4, 1979 more than 300 Islamic students who supported the recently begun regime of Islamic Imam Ayatollah Khomeini gained entry into The United States Embassy in Tehran and seized control with the initial idea of symbolically ,"holding ," the Embassy only and releasing press statements. But as the crowd grew outside the compound and news came that Khomeini, who was not informed of the Embassy taking until after it had succeeded, came out in support of the students, the situation quickly became a hostage taking of 66 Americans.

Six managed to escape and on November 19 and 20, 13 were released with another released in July of 1980. The remaining 52 hostages were held and over the 444 total days of the crisis negotiations continued to fail with one rescue attempt in April of 1980 ending in total disaster killing eight US soldiers and adding to the tensions already caused by the holding of American Embassy personnel who by international law were considered immune from,"arrest," and the Embassy compound considered the sovereign domain of The United States.

As the crisis lingered on and the pictures provided by the hostage takers continued to regularly headline both print and broadcast media the prestige of The United States around the world dwindled and the weakness and failure of Jimmy Carter became more evident with each passing day. Every news show began with the announcement of what day it was in the continuing hostage crisis with the days number staying on the screen throughout the broadcast just as it is today with the oil spill. When Carter left office after a landslide victory by Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election he was seen as a failed President who left office humiliated by the crisis.

While the Gulf oil spill does not have the political ramifications of the Iran Hostage crisis, its impact both on the Nation and the Obama Presidency are very similar as the situation that destroyed Jimmy Carter. Carter like Obama had forced through several unpopular legislative initiatives before the crisis began and his popularity also like Obama was on the down slide. As the days lingered the entire country lost total confidence in Carter and Obama is heading down that same path with the oil spill.

When any President is faced with a crisis the American people expect it to be handled swiftly and with strong decisive decisions and action. Jimmy Carter in the 444 days of the Iran Hostage crisis did not do this and as such was seen as the weak and failed President that history shows him to be. Barack Obama is doing exactly the same in his handling of the gulf oil spill with one major exception.

Carter did show a seriousness during the entire Iran crisis and except when necessary to handle the duties of the office, Carter stayed in Washington understanding the seriousness of the problem and the emotional impact and embarrassment the hostage taking was to the Nation. He was just too weak as a President to end the situation decisively and quickly.

Obama on the other hand seems almost flippant and oblivious to the extreme anger, emotional impact and damage to the prestige of our Nation that the oil spill has become. The White House parties, the weekend jaunts to Asheville, NC and Chicago and the almost endless rounds of golf have painted a picture of a President who publicly claims he is deeply concerned and angered by the crisis but in reality his actions of this nature say otherwise as HIS pleasure is more important than the suffering of the American people especially those directly affected by the oil spill.

Just as with Carter even his most ardent supporters are turning against Obama as we have seen James Carville and even his former cheerleaders at MSNBC, Chris Matthews and Keith Olberman not only criticize Obama but do so in anger. The news networks who have been Obama's propaganda mouth pieces are constantly critical of his handling of the crisis and all across the broadcast media the day number is displayed at the bottom of the screen just like the Iran Hostage crisis. Obama has even lost the New York and Los Angeles Times who are now openly critical of his failure in the Gulf.

Many failings brought down the Carter Presidency but the Iran Hostage crisis was not only the final nail in the political coffin of Jimmy Carter but ended his term in humiliation and the stigma of being one of our worst Presidents who left office embarrassed and with the prestige of the Nation severely damaged by his failings as Chief Executive.

Obama owns this crisis and the failing in the way it has been handled whether by him directly, BP or entities within his administration. We as Americans expect swift action to a crisis but Obama has moved at a snails pace and continues to do so. We also expect not only action but positive results from that action and Obama has delivered neither. No amount of finger pointing, smart remarks or side stepping by trying to deflect from the problem by talking about or skirting to other issues will change the fact that Obama is failing in every aspect of this crisis.

The Gulf oil spill IS his Presidency and until it is stopped and the oil is cleaned up it will continue to be the ONLY issue of his Presidency just like the 444 days of the Iran Hostage crisis was for Jimmy Carter. Obama has already allowed this to go too far without decisive action and real decisions for it to turn around enough to keep it from being the final blow to his failed term in The White House. Though it has come earlier in his term than the Iran situation did in Carter's the end result will be the same. The Gulf oil spill is the end of the Obama Presidency.


Ken Taylor