It’s hard to tell which has messed up in the Gulf more, BP or DC. Both are doing a phenomenal job of neither kicking ass nor plugging the hole. British Petroleum, who couldn’t be bothered to follow safety rules, had to remove it’s PR nightmare CEO Tony Hayward from the clean-up operation last week following the Oil Summit. Even though he is the head of BP, Hayward appeared clueless as to what caused the leak, how to stop the leak, and how to clean up the spilled oil from the leak.

The government, which couldn’t be bothered to enforce safety rules, hasn’t been much better. The Obama administration refused the help of the Dutch, and as Geert Visser, consul general for the Netherlands in Houston said, “What’s wrong with accepting outside help? If there’s a country that’s experienced with building dikes and managing water, it’s the Netherlands.” Those in Washington have refused to let local authorities in affected states and communities take charge. When President Obama made the gulf oil spill the topic of his first Oval Address last week, even the folks over at MSNBC thought it was ineffective at best.

It’s safe to say that both entities are mucking things up royally. And refusing to play nicely together. Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton made jokes about Tony Hayward taking in a yacht race over the weekend, saying:

“You know, look, if Tony Hayward wants to put a skimmer on that yacht and bring it down to the Gulf, we’d be happy to have his help…Tony Hayward, I guess, took himself at his word that he was going to get his life back here. It’s clear that he has. But what’s important to us is that the people in the Gulf get their lives back. It’s not so easy for them to just take a weekend away and forget about everything that’s happening down there.”

It’s just not right for Tony Hayward to indulge in some rest and relaxation over the weekend while there are people losing everything down in the gulf. Right or wrong, even I agree it doesn’t look good. So what did Mr. Burton have to say about President Obama’s Saturday golf game?

“I don’t think that there’s a person in this country that doesn’t think that their president ought to have a little time to clear his mind.”

Hypocrites. One leader is shrugging off his responsibilities, the other is clearing his head. I guess some animals really are more equal than others.

There is a horrible oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico right now. On April 22nd, there was an explosion that killed eleven people and has caused crude oil to pour into the ocean and encroach upon wild marshlands at the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Make no mistake — this is a tragedy. The lives lost in the explosion, the destruction to our environment, and the potential loss of livelihood should the oil move into the areas where many commercial fishermen earn their living.

I personally believe that we all need to come together to support the effort to get this mess cleaned up. I also think we need to figure out what caused it, so that other oil drilling sites can make sure they’re not at risk for the same type of disaster.

But I still support drilling for oil. To say we should hault the collection of one of our most valuable resources is like saying a person shouldn’t live in California because there’s a high risk of earthquakes. Or that no one should teach their kid to ride a bike because they might fall off and hurt themselves.

The fact is that there is risk to everything. Even getting out of bed in the morning poses a risk of tripping and falling in clumsy sleepiness. The goal is to take calculated risks. To look at the potential benefits and weigh them against the potential downfalls, and make the best decision that you can at the time.

I read this tweet from Bill Maher today:

Every asshole who ever chanted ‘Drill baby drill’ should have to report to the Gulf coast today for cleanup duty

Really? Asshole? Bill Maher is certainly entitled to his opinion, but unless he lives in a hut in the woods, he’s a total hypocrite. I’m sure that Mr. Maher uses more than his fair share of oil, so he would be wise not to criticize the collection of it. It’s stuff like this that makes it impossible for people to take him seriously.

It would be nice if Mr. Maher would use some of his money, influence, and power to mobilize some help to clean this oily mess up, rather than insult and criticize Americans that would like to see gasoline under three dollars a gallon again.