Remember what President Obama was doing before the April 20 explosion on board the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and before the June 23 resignation of General Stanley McCrystal? He was busy selling a kinder-gentler United States to the rest of the world. In typical fashion the US turned on itself. British Petroleum (BP) Chair Tony Hayward and Goldman Sachs' Peter Sutherland (himself a former BP head were among those company officials dumping their stocks at least a day or so before the explosion).

This doesn't include the shortcuts BP took over the course of years that could only lead to the eventuality of one of the worst environmental disasters of all time and still counting. According to the Daily Record "engineers cut corners in the wall design, cementing and drilling mud efforts and the installation of drilling devices known as 'lockdown sleeves' and 'centralizers' according to congressional investigators... the decision saved BP $7 million to $10 million; the original cost estimate for the well was about$ $96 million."

BP is not new to taking cheap shortcuts and ignoring common-sense safety measure it seems. Back during the summer of '06 they had an oil spill in Alaska that was blamed on a lapse in inspections, some of you may remember. This followed the '05 Texas refinery fire and explosion. Back then I wrote a 2-part op-ed where I noted that retired oil worker Chuck Hamel was reported to have said that workers approached him as far back as 1999 claiming that BP was skimping on a chemical used to prevent corrosion in order to hold down costs. This was one of their ways to cash-in during the drop in oil prices. One of BP's problems is that even though they don't drill Saudi oil, they yearn to profit like the big boys.

A lot of the attention and blame being focussed on Obama for his reactions to the spill, is to prevent you from taking a look into BP's shady history. In truth there is little the President can do with a company that has been deceptive and cunning towards it's consumers much longer than he has been in office. What am I saying, are white corporate giants too evil and fast moving for Obama to keep up with? No. But this ordeal does take him off guard in that it catches him during a time when he was doing something considered pretty sickening by the right; yet another series of apologies to other country's for past US misdeeds.

It is on these occasions that I liken Obama to that scrappy little sports agent in that American Airlines commercial trying to sell some team on his tall basketball or soccer player; 'Milos only wants to play for Dallas... Milos only wants to play for Rome.' Just who in this particular case is this tall, carefree, dorky white player who can't seem to stop looking indifferent, banging his head on the doorway, much less make himself more appealing to other nations? To Obama Milos is the United States and he feels he has to clean up Milos' image even in the case of immediate wrongs being done to US representatives.

Back on March 13 three people with US government ties were murdered in Mexico City by members of a drug-cartel. Just as Hillary pointed out at the beginning of the Obama administration regarding the US role in illegal drug importation and it's by-product of violent Mexican drug-gangs, once again. This has earned him heated scorn from the right, led by the typical mock-outrage and-mock sighing by Glenn Beck and venomous rage from Michael Savage, and Sean Hannity.

These men stop short of nothing in their quest to turn the country against Obama. Beck in fact had to recently apologize for repeatedly mocking Obama's daughter during some of his broadcasts. However vile, Obama's low ratings prove they're gutter tactics work. You would think Obama planned the explosion itself if you cut off half your brain and take they're word for it.

--Chris Stevenson is a syndicated columnist, his articles also appear on his blog; the Buffalo Bullet, www.buffalobullet.blogspot.com Follow him on Twitter (http://twitter.com/pointblank009) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pointblank009) contact him at pointblankdta@yahoo.com.