The editors of the Orange County Register write:

The White House was more successful Wednesday forcing a private company — British Petroleum — to set up a $20 billion fund to pay for damage from the oil spill than it has been in stemming the flow of crude fouling the Gulf of Mexico and the coastlines of several states.
Chances are that BP stood to be held accountable through legal avenues even without the agreement reached with the Obama administration. The government, motivated by politics and public emotion, isn’t the best arbiter of liability, particularly after the fact. If existing tort provisions prove inadequate, they should be adjusted to provide proportionate incentives before, and appropriate liability after, disasters. But this should be done legislatively, not by administrative fiat in the heat of crisis. We suspect the administration may hike its $20 billion requirement as tolls mount, and new constituencies are heard from.
Clearly, government is good at coercing money from companies needing government approval to operate. Government’s not so adept at dealing with catastrophes such as an unprecedented two-month oil leak 5,000 feet underwater.
Despite insisting it is in control, the Obama administration can do little to stem the flow of oil and, apparently, little to clean it up. But government can wield power elsewhere and pretend that addresses the problem.

The rest here.