I don’t think vague hope and change rhetoric works when thousands of gallons of oil spew forth. Obama needed to review ways to plug the leak, and explain what he is doing and what he will do if the present capping efforts then don’t work. Then, instead of the never-miss-a-crisis trope and soaring green platitudes, he could have emphasized the here and now: We have to expand nuclear power, which can provide clean power for new hybrids and electric cars, and we have to exploit vast new finds of clean-burning natural gas, which might likewise be applied to our transportation needs, especially heavy equipment and trucks that are less suitable for hybrid engines.

In other words, instead of the vague dreaming, we needed (1) a review of concrete fix-it methods for the leak, and then (2) short-term mechanisms that will lessen dependence on oil. Instead, we got nothing detailed how to solve the problem, more green dreaming, more now-is-the-moment campaign mode, more “some say, others say,” and more “they will pay.”