[classicman]

In his Oval Office address last week, Obama described the oil spill in unmistakable warlike terms, talking about "the battle we're waging" against oil and "our battle plan" going forward, and promising to "fight this spill with everything we've got."

But while the response to the spill is clearly under Obama's control, the federal effort so far seriously lacks anything like military precision. More than two months into this crisis and there's still ongoing confusion about who's in charge, bureaucratic bumbling and rising complaints that far less than "everything" is being done to contain the oil.

Indeed, a recent New York Times story called the response effort "chaotic," noting that "from the beginning the effort has been bedeviled by a lack of preparation, organization, urgency and clear lines of authority among federal, state and local officials, as well as BP." As a result, "damage to the coastline and wildlife has been worse than it might have been."

Who's in Charge?

In his speech, Obama said that that "from the very beginning of this crisis, the federal government has been in charge."

But while Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen is the point person for the cleanup, "who's in charge" remains an open question. Consider:

The Associated Press reported after Obama's speech that "local officials in the gulf region have complained that often they don't know who is in charge -- the government or BP."

At a congressional hearing this month, Billy Nungesser, president of Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, said, "I still don't know who's in charge. ... I have spent more time fighting the officials of BP and the Coast Guard than fighting the oil. We've got people in charge who don't know what they're doing."

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