The shadow of Katrina hangs over Obama

In contrast with his treatment of the Massey Energy Company, which operates the West Virginia mine where 29 miners recently died in an explosion, Mr. Obama has not directed any tough rhetoric in public against BP, the British oil giant that was leasing the oil rig that exploded 11 days ago. Nor has he struck any tones of outrage on behalf of Gulf Coast residents and businesses affected by the spill…

Mr. Obama, for his part, vowed, for the second time in two days, that his administration would respond aggressively to the oil spill. He maintained that he continued to “believe that domestic oil production is an important part of our overall strategy for energy security,” addressing concerns about whether the administration would stick with its plan to increase drilling in the gulf.

But administration officials left open the possibility that they might reconsider the decision to expand offshore drilling if conditions in the gulf worsened. Mr. Gibbs said there would be “an extensive environmental review before deciding” on issuing new drilling leases.