At no time during President Obama’s term has he had it easy. Some say that the media has been easy on him, but this assertion can be proven false.

The oil leak has been a problem Obama would love to have never heard of or run into.  It will damage his legacy to some degree. During this time the media has not given him a break.

First, there were accusations the president was not showing enough emotion, he wasn’t mad enough. If that wasn’t absurd enough, he was also criticized for not having a solution to cap the well.

Obama does not work for Transocean or BP.

He does, however, work for the American people, and he is therefore required to serve us.

This means explaining to the American people why there hasn’t been a solution so far, why it happened in the first place, and exactly how things will be fixed to the best that his administration can.

During Obama’s address to the nation on June 15, 2010 about the oil leak in the gulf, Obama explained his actions so far on the oil spill. The president talked about how he immediately organized a group of scientists and oil industry engineers including Nobel Prize-winning scientist Steven Chu, the leader of the group.

The president also talked about how he was going to deal with the Minerals Management Service, an agency that has deteriorated to the point of inability to do anything resembling regulating.

The president showed action by having his Secretary of the interior Ken Salazar terminate the Mineral Management service, and then creating an agency known as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, which will be head by former Department of Justice Inspector general, and former U.S. attorney of New York Michael Bromiwch.

President Obama is showing what past presidents have not, knowledge of the situation, ideas on how to contain such events and a plan for keeping them from happening in the future.

Obama seems to have a secure grip on what to do to the best of his abilities, and he also knows the importance of holding those responsible for however long necessary.

The oil Leak may have refocused our attention but he also has impending problems elsewhere.

Those who think the media is light on Obama or that they are doing him favors should simply watch the news. Criticisms and challenges to his healthcare reform are coming from all over.

Today President Barack Obama summoned General Stanley McChrsytal to Washington to explain the comments that he made to the Rolling Stone magazine which appear in the currently published issue.

Whether President Obama decides to fire the general or not the obstacles he continues to face are relentlessly multiplying. The way he handles these will say everything about his administration.

It is unfair to say America has lost its greatness; our greatness is still yet to come.

– Andrew Taylor is a senior economics major at U. Houston.