The ragin’ Cajun and Obama

By Ruben Navarrette, UNION-TRIBUNE COLUMNIST
Sunday, May 30, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.

Politics is an ugly and cynical profession with more than its share of phonies and opportunists who tell you what you want to hear so they get where they want to go.

So it’s refreshing to see a political pro let his guard down and display his emotions in defense of a state he loves.

That’s what is so noteworthy about Democratic strategist James Carville’s recent no-holds-barred criticism of President Barack Obama for a totally inadequate response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s been about 40 days since the Deepwater Horizon platform exploded, gushing millions of gallons of oil. The spill has endangered the local fishing industry and threatens to ruin coastal wetlands and wildlife for many generations to come.

The state that has been most heavily impacted by this environmental disaster is Louisiana . According to Gov. Bobby Jindal, more than 100 miles of Louisiana coastline are in the spill’s path. Jindal is furious at the Army Corps of Engineers, which until Thursday had refused to grant permits to allow the state to build sand barriers that might slow the spread of crude toward the shoreline. Jindal had threatened to sidestep Washington and push ahead with those plans on his own regardless of the consequences. The governor has been bold and tenacious in defense of the people of his state, showing real leadership.

Contrast that with Obama, who seems to be taking a wait-and-see approach. He dispatched Adm. Thad Allen, the former Coast Guard commandant, and passed the buck to BP by stating that the spill was the company’s fault and the cleanup was its responsibility. Behind closed doors, Obama reportedly got frustrated and told aides to “just plug the damn hole.â€