Impersonal responsibility

The furore over BP CEO Tony Hayward's decision to watch a yacht race this weekend highlights the desire to pile the blame on somebody who should be in control when, in fact, the events are out of anybody's control. Don't get me wrong, if it turns out (as seems increasingly likely) that the blowout on Deepwater Horizon (or "Deep Horizon" as one of the inquisitors from Congress kept calling it) was due to BP's negligence then Hayward should be horsewhipped with a horsewhip. In the meantime he should be directing his company's sizable resources toward stopping the leak and cleaning the spill, but that doesn't mean he should be personally sucking oil out of the gulf with a straw, or forced to watch the live spill-o-cam 24 hours a day. Similarly, President Obama himself can't don a wetsuit and become a human 'junk shot' into the pipe, but the public acts as if his personal willpower is all that's required to plug the leak.

Finally, I think the members of Congress grilling Hayward should STFU until they've divested themselves of all campaign oil dollars, and the general public should follow suit until they are willing to pay 9 bucks a gallon for gas.