While President Obama was laughing it up at state dinners, oil belched from a pipe in the Gulf of Mexico. For 10 days, the Obama Administration downplayed the seriousness of the threat.
Drilling for oil from offshore platforms is not free from risk. Safeguards are in place to prevent spills, or at least limit the damage. But like airplanes and spacecraft, no matter how safe the systems may be, no matter how many backup systems are in place, sometimes it is not enough to prevent disaster.
