After the Exxon Valdez spill, people from some very far-flung parts of the United States showed up with hat-in-hand to get “compensated.” One Alaskan relative of mine told how he left a meeting in disgust when some Floridians came rattling their tin cups.

I have no desire to disparage anybody who’s seeking legitimate compensation. But I have a very strong desire to disparage folks who are going to make some underserved coin from the Gulf spill. Maybe we need an office pool to predict the most outlandish or unreasonable compensation claim in the months to come. One reader suggests that Maxine Waters will claim oil made it up the Los Angeles river. Maybe Bernie Sanders will claim that snowbirds from Vermont will need to have their Florida vacations reimbursed. I’m betting a few environmental groups are going to get some new patio furniture out of all this.

The only thing that gives me hope is that maybe Joe Biden will be assigned to keep a watchful eye on the payouts. He’s done such a marvelous job ensuring that the stimulus money has been spent effectively.