Six weeks ago, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour encouraged people to come visit his state because the oil wasn't a threat.
“The Mississippi Gulf Coast is open for business,” Barbour said. “Enjoy the beach and pay a little sales tax right here.”
Three weeks ago, Barbour said the oil was "no big deal" and that the real damage was being caused by media coverage of the spill.
"The truth is," he said, "we have had virtually no oil. If you were on the Mississippi Gulf coast anytime in the last 48 days you didn't see any oil at all. We have had a few tar balls but we have had tar balls every year, as a natural product of the Gulf of Mexico. 250,000 to 750,000 barrels of oil seep into the Gulf of Mexico through the floor every year. So, tar balls are no big deal." ...
"The biggest negative impact for us has been the news coverage," Barbour added.
So what does Barbour say now that oil has hit the Mississippi shoreline? Naturally, he says the problem is that the Federal government isn't doing enough to stop the oil.
"We continue to press the Federal Unified Command and BP to increase the amount of resources available to attack the oil beginning as far south as possible, through the passes, into the sound, and in the mouths of the bays.
"While command and control of on-water resources has improved, it must get much better, and the amount of resources to attack the oil offshore must be greatly increased. Under the circumstances, we are taking some of that into our own hands."
I know you'll be shocked to learn that Barbour was at a political fundraiser in Washington, DC when he first learned of the imminent threat to the Mississippi mainland. Drill, baby, drill.