I know how Obama got the concessions from BP.

[WeDidIt]

Look at this picture:



Besides Obama and Biden two people stick out in my mind.

Eric Holder and Elena Kagan.

BP executives aren't complete fools. They were sitting at a table with a future SCOTUS Associate Justice and the Attorney General talking to the president and the vice president.

Now I believe our president is good at mathematics and the conversation went something like this.

"Look, you guys know we'll be able to claim at least 80,000 barrels of oil have been leaking per day and that will hold up in a court. You also know that just from the emails and discussion that's already public that negligence will be an open and shut case on this thing. So yeah, we all know the cap on your liability for claims is $75 million, but your fine amounts to $344 million per day. Gentlemen, that means your fine as of today is already well over $20 billion dollars, and that figure is going to at the very least triple by the time you really get this thing shut down. You also know that the cleanup bill is still 100% yours in this.

Now we can do this the easy way where your come out looking better than you do right now and the government doesn't pay for this, or we can do this the hard way, and gentlemen, you know damned well and good we'll push for 140,000 barrels per day as the standard for the fine if we have to do this the hard way."

From there, it's pretty much a done deal.

Edited to add: I was wrong, that's not Elena Kagan. It's Janet Napolitano.

[Windy]

1. That picture says it all..... nt

[polichick]

6. The perps do look a bit queasy. nt

[conscious evolution]

16. The guy directly across from O

has a 'No,you're gonna pay for this'look in his eye.
I hope the secret service keeps a sharp eye on him.

[WeDidIt]

21. That;s the guy who later said "BP is for the small people"

I think he must have been talking about the Board of directors because they're the smallest people in this mess.

[elehhhhna]

26. he's swedish an can't b'live a black guy's kicking his ass.

[elehhhhna]

27. and bighair (on the left) looks like he REALLY wants his life back, bad.

[whathehell]

31. Yes, he does look a bit nasty, doesn't he?..... Nasty and aggressive. n/t

[madrchsod]

36. ya but obama is saying....who the fuck are you?

i`m the president of the usa and your in the people`s house. no need to stare the conceited bastard down.

the us government is BP`s biggest customer

[FrenchieCat]

2. I don't think Elena was there. I think she stepped away from the job of Solicitor General....

precisely because of her SCOTUS nomination....
but I could be wrong.

But yeah...that is Eric Holder; Attorney General over there. :)

[WeDidIt]

7. The woman in the blue jacket closest to you

That's Elena Kagan.

[polichick]

11. That's Janet Napolitano. nt

[WeDidIt]

13. D'oh!

You're right.

[WCGreen]

18. yep..

Kagan is slighter in stature...

[elehhhhna]

19. looks like Napalitano (???) or am I totally confused.

[WeDidIt]

22. I was wrong

Fixed it.

[tabatha]

14. I think that is Janet Napolitano, not Kagan.

[WeDidIt]

20. You're right, I edited the OP. n/t

[elehhhhna]

24. so who's the woman in bright blue? looks like she's going to cry.

[babylonsister]

28. Hilda Solis. nt

[mucifer]

3. They probably threatened to put the ceos in prison.

[muntrv]

4. "...good at methmatics?" He's cooking crystal meth?

[WeDidIt]

10. Fixed the typo

:eyes:

[polichick]

5. Or maybe he suggested that they might not feel comfortable in the general population...

...of an American prison.

(Or it could've had to do with not drilling in this country anymore, or selling to the military.)

[Raven]

8. Kagan had better not have been there. n/t

[monmouth]

9. And President Teddy Roosevelt looking down with his "big stick." Had

to be a little nerve-wracking....Bwahahaha....

[LiberalFighter]

12. Tony doesn't look comfortable.

[WeDidIt]

17. He looks like he's a bit puckered in an uncomfortable spot, doesn't he.

:evilgrin:

[Cetacea]

15. Good pic. Thanks. n/t

[lunatica]

23. that photograph will be for the history books

Because the BP Oil Gusher is also going to be in the history books as a pivotal moment in world history. This Gusher will be the one that'll be used to compare all future disasters to.

We're living this horrible history. We'll be telling our grandkids about it, just like our grandparents tell us about the Great Depression and the World Wars.

[polichick]

25. Yep - it'll be in the text books (except in Texas)...

It's horrible - if this isn't a game changer, the U.S. is a sociopathic country.

[polichick]

29. Thanks for posting that pic! As lunatica says, it's one for the history books. nt

[Rosco T.]

30. I think it was even simpler...

"Ok, we got you by the short-hairs. The fine for this will end up being over 60 billion. You'll pay it. You'll do the escrow fund, you'll do the unemployment fund, you'll do every dammned bit of it.. or the next thing will be the news conference where I sign the executive order that seizes every BP asset in this country and your company will simply cease to exist. You can recover from 100 billion in fines, if you have a company left."

[madrchsod]

32. here`s micheal shaw`s take from his bagnewsnotes website

interesting comments

http://www.bagnewsnotes.com/2010/06/your-turn-bp-at-the-white-house/

[katandmoon]

33. I'm sure they're just terrified of Bush/Cheney protector/whistleblower prosecutor Eric Holder

[mikelgb]

34. Look at poor tiny Secretary Solis way back there....

[NNN0LHI]

35. Tony Hayward looks to be on the verge of having a nervous breakdown

[malaise]

38. I'm betting Tony Hayward has season tickets for

the test and ODI cricket matches at Lords. What's more he must have a fabulous empty luxury box waiting for him in South Africa for the football World Cup. I mean Prince Charles boys just happen to be touring Africa for their various charities and will suddenly appear on our TVs from an England match.

Do you understand the level of dislocation for Tony Hayward - I'm surprised he hasn't resigned and headed back to England to see the ODI matches with Australia and then head to RSA.

The Gulf crisis is a major burden for Tony - messed up his summer plans

Hayward is married with two children, and lives in London<15>.

A keen fan of football club West Ham United F.C., Hayward lists his interests as sailing, triathlons and watching football, rugby union and cricket<16>

http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Tony_Hayward

[DinahMoeHum]

37. Nothing like a little ball-squeezing, eh?

Hopefully, the $20 billion is just the beginning.

I won't shed tears if BP goes the way of Texaco.