Sen. George LeMieux is beginning to doubt whether this Barack Obama fellow really is the Chosen One. Because if he were, Obama would be standing on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, parting the sea. Oil to the left. Saltwater to the right. And his people (Americans) would be free.
Seriously, what's with LeMieux's obsession -- repeated in newspapers and now on multiple cable TV networks -- with Obama being in the Gulf, "leading" the environmental relief mission?
In the appearance below on CNBC's Squawk Box, LeMieux is at least held to account for the point we made last week about flip-flopping on small government principles.
But there's absolutely no evidence that there's room -- or need -- for another cook in what's an extremely crowded kitchen. If there were, then LeMieux would be more specific in what he wants to see from the Obama administration.
Rather, his objective is simply to gain visibility on cable networks by being critical of the president. If Obama were in the Gulf "managing" this crisis in the way that LeMieux is demanding, LeMieux would be on the same television shows making the opposite point -- that Obama's intervention is slowing the important work that BP and the U.S. Coast Guard are doing and that he should go back to Washington and work on the economy.
