President Obama, last night you proposed that the nation embark on a new energy initiative, a bold move from fossil fuels to wind, solar and such. You suggested more government regulation including your favorite answer to a crisis, the formation of a commission. You hinted at cap and trade, the Holy Grail of the left.

Your excuse for such a lengthy lurch toward bigger government? The oil leak in the Gulf.

You have even proposed to shut down all drilling in the Gulf. Sure, that will certainly reduce the chances of another accident like the BP incident, but if you proceed you can stick a fork in Louisiana… they will be done.

Yeah, I understand the political value of the Gulf disaster… as your underlings like to say, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” This could be a great opportunity to move your liberal agenda forward. Reactive leadership is never the best but, with your poll numbers, I guess you do what you think that you have to do.

But let me break it down for you, Mr. President (as if this bit of logic will make a difference)– It’s just an oil leak. It is not the end of the U.S. economy… unless your overreaction makes it so. It is not the first of many disasters, unless by “disaster” you mean the steps that you have proposed to “fix the problem.” It is not final nail in Louisiana’s coffin, but shutting down the Gulf oil industry certainly will be.

Sure, this is a big deal; an ecological disaster on an epic scale, but its long-term effects will be no worse than that of the Mount St. Helens eruption or the recent Indonesian tsunami. It’s just an oil leak, and these things happen.

Let me put it in the proper perspective, Mr. President. In 2008, there were 37,261 auto accident deaths. That an average of over 101 deaths per day. You probably know that only 11 were killed in the BP oil rig explosion and I know of no deaths directly caused by the resulting oil spill.

Good grief, Mr. President, if that isn’t a national crisis on our roadways, I do not know what one is! Given your propensity for overreaction, it should be no great leap of logic for you to rationalize the banning of all vehicles from our national highways. The auto manufacturers must be prohibited from making these death traps; shutting down production lines must occur immediately. You can do this, right? Don’t you own the auto companies now?

It’s a double whammy, Mr. President! You get to save the lives of tens of thousands (I guess bicycle deaths will rise) and protect the environment from exhaust fumes.

It’s the perfect political opportunity as well, Mr. President. Those deaths occurred in the last year of the Bush administration. Obviously, Bush caused those poor souls’ deaths… heck, he probably killed them himself. Certainly, Democrat drivers were targeted.

Yeah, sounded silly to me also, but what’s the difference? It is just an oil leak, Mr. President.