KENNER, Louisiana (AP) — President Barack Obama arrived in Louisiana Friday for updates on the Gulf oil spill and meetings with residents and local officials.
Obama immediately huddled in a small airport building with Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the top federal official on the spill, along with the governors of Louisiana, Florida and Alabama and other officials.
Stressing his personal leadership of the federal response, Obama was heading to Grand Isle, Louisiana, a barrier island that’s been affected by the spill and where nearby beaches are being lapped by oil.
The president’s third visit to the Gulf came as engineers with British oil company BP worked to settle a funnel-like cap over the deep-sea leak to try to collect some of the crude now fouling four states. Oil continued to spew, generating frightening photos of seabirds clogged in the muck.
Underscoring the mounting political implications, Obama abruptly canceled plans for his trip to Indonesia and Australia later this month. Ahead of the Gulf visit, he spoke for many in the U.S. Thursday in declaring himself furious at a situation that “is imperiling an entire way of life and an entire region for potentially years.” He criticized BP for not responding more quickly.
