Obama defends his concentration on oil spill during NBC interview

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President Obama said he’s been talking to Gulf Coast fishermen and various experts on BP’s catastrophic oil spill not for lofty academic reasons but ‘so I know whose ass to kick.’

The salty words, part of Obama’s recent efforts to demonstrate his attention to the crisis, came in an interview in Michigan with NBC’s ‘Today’ show.

He strongly defended his role in dealing with the crisis that began with the April 20 explosion on a BP-leased oil rig in the gulf, which killed 11 workers and started the nation’s largest-ever oil spill.

‘I was down there a month ago before most of these talking heads were even paying attention to the gulf,’ Obama told NBC’s Matt Lauer. ‘I was meeting with fishermen in the rain talking about what a potential crisis this could be.’

Some have criticized the president for not engaging passionately enough on the spill, even though he’s been to the Gulf Coast three times since the disaster began, his most recent visit on Friday. Obama said he has talked to a variety of experts on the oil spill in addition to the fishermen.

‘I talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers -- so I know whose ass to kick,’ the president said.

Obama was in Kalamazoo, Mich., to speak to graduating high school students. NBC aired a portion of the interview on Monday evening in advance of Tuesday’s ‘Today’ program.

-- Associated Press