Oil leak deflates Americans

Among the many frustrations surrounding the endless spewing of oil into the waters off the Gulf Coast is that it challenges the American spirit.

Since at least the early part of the 19th century, when the Erie Canal was dug and railroad tracks began crisscrossing the nation, Americans have become used to the notion that scientists and engineers, laboring in a land of freedom and liberty, could solve any problem. Even when things went horribly wrong, such as the explosion aboard Apollo 13's aborted flight to the moon, that spirit of innovation and determination prevailed. The self-interests of private businesses would keep them from taking risks that might run them out of business, and government regulators would make sure dangerous enterprises were conducted under the safest of procedures.

But the British Petroleum oil leak has burst that illusion. A private business apparently forged ahead with deep-water drilling without adequate protections against problems. As of earlier this week, BP stock was on the way down as company engineers had to admit their strategy of stuffing the leak with heavy mud and concrete had failed. Government regulators, meanwhile, have been stunningly negligent. Some apparently had intimate relations with oil company officials while others whiled away the hours searching pornography on their computers.

BP officials succeeded in sheering off the leaking pipe Thursday and may finally be able to cap much, but not all, of the leak. Meanwhile, the damage the leak has caused may be difficult to assess.

Negligence and bad behavior are certainly not new to either the private or public sectors in the United States. But it would be hard to find an example with such far-reaching and devastating effects. With the failure to stop the leak last weekend, BP officials and others say it will continue until August, when the next best chance comes through the drilling of two relief wells. Capping the leak only allows the company to siphon off oil. The leak continues.

Somewhere between 12,000 and 19,000 barrels a day have poured into the ocean — and it's the feeling of helplessness that rankles Americans who wanted someone to take charge and fix things before the coast and the fishing industry were ruined.