Sen. George LeMieux loves to invoke the future of his children among his reasons for wanting to slow federal spending and shrink government. But if that really is what drives his political actions, doesn't the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico pose a far greater risk to his children's future? And so, shouldn't LeMieux take as strong a stance on opposing oil exploration on Florida's coast as he does on federal spending?
Did you hear the part at the 35-second mark? In responding to a question of whether too many industry insiders were allowed to influence regulations on drilling, LeMieux -- a Republican who campaigned for George W. Bush -- blames this Democrat president for failing to properly root out the insider culture and regulatory failures that were created -- or at least allowed to exist -- during Bush's eight years in the Oval Office.
"What we've seen over the past 42 days is, to me, a real dereliction of duty by this administration," LeMieux said in an interview Thursday night. "The president comes down twice for photo ops and then goes back home to go golfing in Chicago.
"I think back to when Jeb Bush was governor. He was on the ground working the problems of those nine hurricanes, ten hurricanes that we had in '04 and '05. And I want to see that kind of leadership in my president. I don't want him outsourcing it or delegating it to BP or even delegating it to his cabinet members.
"We elected him. He's a very bright guy. He needs to show leadership. He needs to be on the ground pushing for solutions like Jeb Bush was during all those hurricanes."
