These don't come very often thus it is important to understand what took place when one happened.
  
Despite the length of the conference three relevant issues were covered in the conference, 1) the Gulf Oil Spill, 2) Illegal Immigration and 3) the issue as to what might have been offered Congressman Sestak in return for him not pursuing the PA Senate seat, an offer that he allegedly refused. 
 
1.   One month after oil began spilling into the Gulf President Obama identified that he was in charge.   

•   From the moment the spill began the federal government has been in charge

The evidence of presidential involvement in the Gulf Oil Leak came eight or nine days after the explosion on the oil platform.   As yet there is no public report as to the cause of the explosion but it has been noted that a change in procedure had recently been approved by the MMS that may itself have been the cause.  Eleven died.  The evidence shows there has been an absence in leadership that has continued the entire five weeks since the explosion.        

• We will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect and repair the Gulf Coast  

Louisiana Governor Jindal requested the federal government approve a plan that would build a sand barrier, an island between the oil spill and the delicate Louisiana eco-systems of marshes.  They still wait more than a week after the request.  The Army Corps of Engineers has indicated they must first complete an Environmental Impact Statement.   Where do these people live?   What worse environmental impact on those marshes might be created by barriers built to block hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil from reaching the marshes?   This cannot be treated as business as usual by the federal bureaucracy.  The federal government needs to treat this as an emergency and to hell with Environmental Impact Statements when the contrast between bad and worse is obvious.      

•   ...use full force of the federal government to protect our citizens  

The full force of the federal government appears absent in this cleanup.   Thus far what we have mostly seen is an effort to paint British Petroleum as the responsible party and assess blame.   It is premature to assess blame.  Step one is to plug the hole which may have been done today.  Step two is protect the coast and step three is the cleanup.  Then and only then should we be assessing responsibility for the explosion.   If the federal government approved a procedure it should not have approved then they have to accept partial blame.   If BP cut corners on production and skipped what by current standards would have been minor expenses then they are to blame and those who cut those corners will be dealt with in that organization and the company can be dealt with by our government.  But, first, let's fix the problem.  

Elizabeth Birnbaum, Minerals Management Service Director left her post but President Obama was unable to confirm whether she had been fired or she had resigned on her own accord because he was "busy doing a bunch of other stuff" this morning and wasn't available to Secretary Salazar.  

In one breath the President told us he was in charge.  In another he told us that no problem is more important to him and then he announced that he did not know until just before the press conference that Elizabeth Birnbaum had left her post.   Is this believable?   If true it would seem that his White House Staff did a poor job briefing the President about matters in his own administration.   And what were those things he was doing that would not allow his Secretary of the Interior to be able to contact him Thursday morning particularly when he might be reporting matters of importance to the President's most serious concern?  He was involved in a White House ceremony honoring the Duke Blue Devils, this year's NCAA Basketball Champions.   What seems evident is that the President does not like matters like a Gulf Oil Spill to interrupt his enjoyment of the perquisites of his office.  
 
Apparently Elizabeth Birnbaum was the official responsible for granting this drill platform an exemption from having to file an Environmental Impact Statement and having to develop a catastrophic disaster plan before drilling.   This could explain either a resignation or a firing but bottom line is that President Obama had to know the truth yet pleaded ignorant at the conference.  Odd that Jindal needs to prepare an Environmental Impact statement to build a barrier to the oil spill but the company that built the platform didn't have to file one yet they are the source of all that is currently impacting this region.  

•  Extraction is more expensive and inherently more risky and as such the President intends to shut down off shore oil drilling and not permit it in US Coastal Waters. 

The history of these oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico is remarkably good.   They survive hurricanes.   They account for less oil release than normal seepage.   So why would the President react in the manner he has?  Is this not an overreaction?  We don't shut down aviation when there is a plane crash.  We don't shut down the nation's highways when there is a horrible automobile accident and we haven't shut down the railroads when there is an accident there.   The President is attempting to placate his environmental base by this action and it is to the detriment of this country.  No one is opposed to alternative energy but the search for an economic source of renewable energy is not yet at a point where the economics are feasible.   Oil, natural gas and coal will continue to be the fuels that run this country for some time and it will not be until economic alternatives are capable of development that this can change.  Thus, by this action, the president is leaving the oil resources beneath the Gulf of Mexico that can be reached from territorial waters of the US to Mexico and to the Chinese who are drilling off Cuban shores. 


  
2.   On border control and the subject of illegal immigration the president said the following:

• The President does not approve of the Arizona law.  He believes it to be the wrong approach.  He is prepared to work with both parties to get a bill that does a good job of securing our borders.   He wants that bill to punish employers and fine those who entered the country illegally. 

The President has done his best to remain ignorant of the Arizona law and misrepresent its content.   The law merely allows Arizona law enforcement to enforce existing federal law.   It is less draconian than federal law in that it requires lawful contact with an individual before law enforcement may ask for identification.  Federal law does not require a separate lawful contact.  Federal law enforcement officers may request identification at any place and any time.  The law also allows citizens to sue law enforcement if they refuse to enforce the immigration law.  A primary point is that we already have sufficient law, it is just that the federal government is not enforcing that law.  
 
His comment regarding his willingness to work with both parties brings memories of the Healthcare Bill.  He also promised to work with both parties to get comprehensive healthcare legislation passed by the Congress and he shut his doors to Republicans at every opportunity prior to Scott Brown's election in Massachusetts.  Only once did he have a session that included both parties and then he moderated refusing to allow debate on certain topics, calling the bill itself a prop and arguing about facts with Republican Senators when those facts were capable of substantiation by the Senators.   Would this be his plan for bipartisan talks on immigration reform as well?  Sorry Mr. President but you used that strategy before and it would be better if you would not use it again.  
 
It is certainly clear by his statement that he favors what many of us would refer to as de facto amnesty when persons who violate our laws and enter the country illegally are allowed to stay if they pay a fine and learn English.  I certainly favor more stringent penalties on employers.  I would make it a felony.  But, I would also make it a felony to enter this country illegally and require that a fine be paid and that the felon return to Mexico or whatever his point of origin was when entering this country.   

• President Obama mentioned the limited capacity in which the 1,200 National Guard troops will be used on the border.   Apparently the goal will be to stop the flow of arms from the US into Mexico and to stop the flow of narcotics from Mexico into the US.   Their assignments will be administrative.  

Many of the illegal immigrants crossing the border are functioning as mules for the drug lords.  It is hard to understand how they will stop the flow of drugs without also stopping them.  It is also hard to understand how this will happen if their role is primarily administrative and they are assigned a space behind a desk. 
 
At the same time that President Obama placates our neighbor to the south he is being overridden in the Senate.  Senator McCain apparently is succeeding in his effort to increase the number of troops to 6,000
and provide them the charge to stop the migrants themselves.   


 
3.     With regard to the Sestak claim that he had been offered a position to drop out of the PA Democratic Primary, President Obama said that his administration will release an official response shortly.  All he would say beyond that is that nothing improper took place. 
 
Remember what your parents told you about telling the truth.   When you tell the truth you never have to worry about details you may have overlooked as you wove your web of deceit.  Those forgotten details will be consistent with the truth and no harm can be done.   When you weave a web of deceit the opposite is true.   If the truth is as the President said, nothing improper took place, then a simple high level explanation would have been possible.  

 One of my staff had a conversation with Congressman Sestak that he obviously misunderstood.   I have asked that my staff prepare a detailed explanation to me and I will share that with you when it is available.  This will include a sincere apology to Congressman Sestak for any misunderstanding.  

But, this was not said.  Instead one is left to wonder whether "all the president's men" are negotiating a story with Congressman Sestak that he can support and that will not be injurious to his candidacy this fall.  When you tell the truth you don't have to worry about comparing stories.  You don't have to vet timelines or places and determine whether a sharp investigative reporter might be able to unravel the web and expose the true story.
  
This does not pass the smell test.   It is apparent that someone in the administration made an offer to Congressman Sestak, perhaps Obama himself.   It is either this or Congressman Sestak is lying.   If no one in the administration is guilty of making that offer then Sestak is guilty of lying and citizens of Pennsylvania should be made aware so they may avoid sending another liar to the US Senate.  

Personally  I find it doubtful that Congressman Sestak is lying about this offer because the Congressman is a former graduate of the US Naval Academy.  As such I would always give him the benefit of the doubt on issues involving honor, character and integrity.  

The rumor is that he was offered the position of Secretary of the Navy.  This is plausible because he was a three star vice admiral prior to his retirement.  On the basis of his rank and previous commands it would seem that he would be qualified for the position.   However, if this rumor is true, it could not have been offered to him by anyone other than Obama himself or someone acting on behalf of Obama with his knowledge and approval.