White House Declares War on Oil Spill, Commander in Chief to the Gulf

WASHINGTON, June 13, 2010— -- Following weeks of criticism, and as many weeks of playing defense, the Obama administration is launching an all-out assault on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

A long trip to the gulf, a presidential primetime address to the nation, new proposals for claims and a meeting with the top BP officials responsible for the cleanup are all set for the coming days.

It's clear the White House hopes to capture the offensive and it has fewer and fewer nice things to say about BP.

In fact, President Obama's advisers spent today distancing themselves from BP in relatively strong language.

"I don't consider them a partner. I don't consider them -- they're not social friends -- they are not -- I'm not looking to make judgments about their soul. I just want to make sure that they do what they're required to do," White House adviser David Axelrod said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

BP is expected to respond tonight to a demand letter from the Coast Guard that has dismayed the British oil company. The government wants to a new plan to capture even more of the oil that is gushing out of the well head.

"We were concerned, because if you look at the new flow rate numbers and the amount of oil that is going to be potentially out there at risk, we wanted them to give us a faster plan with greater redundancy and greater reliability as we move forward. And we hope to get an answer on that later on today. In fact, we will get an answer," Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said today on CBS's "Face the Nation."

Obama plans to visit Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida on Monday and Tuesday. These are states he hasn't visited in his previous three trips to deal with the Gulf leak.