made sure BP wasn't able to get into this situation in the first place

the poor performance of our regulatory agencies aside, a company that continues to act in criminal negligence is like a serial killer whose defense is "it's not my fault! Why didnt you stop me?"

The fact is, deep ocean oilwell drilling is a huge risk, and a company undertaking it should provide a series of failsafe backup procedures in the event of disaster. There should also be a contingency plan to eliminate the threat, should all of the failsafes fail. Here, BP was allowed to undertake a project for which they didn't possess the technology for a repair. And even though they don't, they unfortunately still hold the best resources with potential for a solution. To condemn Obama for not fixing the blown well, or for his criticism of BP for undertaking a disastrous gamble, is ridiculous.