Obama ties Republicans to BP in latest email

In the latest exchange in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the Whitehouse has seized on an ill-judged apology to BP [no, really!] from Republican congressman Joe Barton:

With the third Deepwater Horizon email from the Obama camp in 12 days, senior adviser David Plouffe attacks Barton and ties the Republicans to Big Oil via campaign donations:

When BP CEO Tony Hayward testified before Congress this morning, many expected to hear him apologize for the disaster his company has caused. Instead, GOP Congressman Joe Barton was the one saying he was sorry — to BP.

In his opening statement, Barton, the top Republican on the committee overseeing the oil spill and its aftermath, delivered a personal apology to the oil giant. He said the $20 billion fund that President Obama directed BP to establish to provide relief to the victims of the oil disaster was a “tragedy in the first proportion.” [...]

Rep. Barton and Republicans like him don’t understand that the real tragedy is what’s happening to the people in the Gulf Coast. They’re the ones who deserve his apology — not BP. [...]

Notably, companies like Halliburton — the folks responsible for cementing the Deepwater Horizon rig — are directing their political committees to deliver thousands of dollars to GOP candidates this cycle. Barton himself has received more than $100,000 from the oil and gas industry this election cycle.

It’s still interesting to see a British company at the centre of an American political clusterf***.