Modbert
Daydream Believer
- Sep 2, 2008
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Obama declares Gulf Coast 'open for business' - Yahoo! News
This is certainly great to see, no doubt.
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. President Barack Obama declared Gulf Coast beaches clean, safe and open for business Saturday as he brought his family to the Florida Panhandle and promised residents that the government wouldn't forget them once efforts to stop the leak are finished.
On a warm and muggy day, Obama pledged to "keep up our efforts until the environment is cleaned, polluters are held accountable, businesses and communities are made whole, and the people of the Gulf Coast are back on their feet."
To reinforce that message, Obama and Sasha swam in the Gulf's waters on Saturday, according to White House spokesman Bill Burton. The highly anticipated dip was away from the media's view. Obama said his family planned to "enjoy the beach and the water to let our fellow Americans know that they should come on down here."
"It's the biggest single commercial you could imagine," Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said of the president's visit. Crist was among the local officials and small business owners who joined Obama earlier in the day at a meeting to discuss the pace of recovery efforts.
Obama, who is on his fifth trip to the region since the spill began, said he knows Gulf Coast residents have been frustrated by the slow payment of claims from a $20 billion BP fund for those who have suffered damages as a result of the spill, and he pledged to rectify that.
This is certainly great to see, no doubt.