Obama’s Katrina – that is what some are calling the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. However that is not an opinion shared by the majority. The public actually thinks that Obama has responded well to the disaster.
According to a recent poll conducted by the Associated Press opinion on the President is flowing along partisan lines. The Democrats are 58% in favor of Obama’s actions with 19% disapproving and 17% being unconcerned. The Republicans reaction is surprisingly not too bad. 47% approve as opposed to 27% who don’t and 23% who don’t care. The Independents however are split down the middle. The total count turns up a 42 percent approval against a 33% disapproval, with 21% not having an opinion. Obama appears to have fared better here than his predecessor did with Hurricane Katrina.
The public’s ire, it seems, is not directed at Obama. Instead they are focusing on the owner of the oil well, British Petroleum or BP PLC as it is now known. But even there the disapproval is not harsh. Only 49% disapprove, with 32% approving and 15% not having an opinion on BP’s actions.
Although the disaster has caused a lot controversy, the public is not put off by the thought of offshore drilling for oil and gas. Half of those polled were in favor as opposed to the 38 percent who were not. In fact many of them were in favor of increasing drilling activities in the future.
