SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW? – AT 4:51 P.M. ET:  Even the Associated Press, part of the Obama Admiration Society, can't deny certain truths about this administration.  Consider, for example, The One's response to the oil spill:

WASHINGTON – The panel appointed by President Barack Obama to investigate the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is short on technical expertise but long on talking publicly about "America's addiction to oil." One member has blogged about it regularly.

Only one of the seven commissioners, the dean of Harvard's engineering and applied sciences school, has a prominent engineering background — but it's in optics and physics. Another is an environmental scientist with expertise in coastal areas and the after-effects of oil spills. Both are praised by other scientists.

The five other commissioners are experts in policy and management.

The White House said the commission will focus on the government's "too cozy" relationship with the oil industry. A presidential spokesman said panel members will "consult the best minds and subject matter experts" as they do their work.

The commission has yet to meet, yet some panel members had made their views known.

COMMENT:  Same old story.  Never let a crisis go to waste. 

Let's be blunt:  The oil spill is a godsend to Barack Obama and his crowd.  It's almost as good as the conveniently timed financial collapse in the middle of the 2008 campaign. 

There is now a clear Democratic strategy to tie the Republican Party to big oil as we go into the midterm elections.  It may just work.  This election is not in the bag.

June 20, 2010