SIX WEEKS AFTER THE GULF COAST OIL SPILL, some wonder why BP is still in charge of response and cleanup.

The obvious answer is because they’re the only ones with sufficient capability to respond.

Personally, I wonder why BP cares enough to respond. Here’s the counter question: given the governments’ “boot on their neck” why should BP give a rat’s behind whether the oil flows one more day, one more month, one more year? With the Obama administration’s “boot on their neck” attitude – and the threat of civil and criminal indictement even before the well is capped - BP knows that they’ll never make another dime. At best they’ll be the abused “wage slaves” of the U.S. government for the next 20 years, so why should they care? Lesser men would simply declare bankruptcy and walk away.

In a less hostile environment, BP would have tremendous incentive to cap the well and clean up, for every barrel of oil lost is profit lost. In Obama’s fantasy land, not so much.