Joe Barton BP Apology: The White House Comes Out Swinging

White House aides on Tuesday characterized President Barack Obama's first Oval Office address as an "inflection point" in the BP disaster, a moment for him to pivot from defense to offense in his handling of the spill. They were likely disappointed at the lukewarm-to-just-plain-icy reception he received following the speech, but events on Wednesday and Thursday have provided the Obama administration with a ripe opportunity to switch into an aggressive offense position. In other words, it's Hammer Time.

Wednesday gave the president his first break -- and positive momentum -- when the White House inked a deal with BP that will create, among other things, an escrow fund of $20 billion to cover claims arising from the oil catastrophe. The announcement was made immediately following meetings with BP executives at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, but the White House got less than 24 hours to bask in the good vibes before conservative leaders began denouncing the agreement.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) called the fund "a redistribution of wealth," while Rush Limbaugh attacked the agreement as "extortion" and "a slush fund." But the most pointed assault came on Thursday morning during congressional hearings on the spill. Addressing BP chief executive Tony Hayward, the ranking member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), said, "I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday. I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private company would be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown -- in this case a $20 billion shakedown."

An hour later, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs had released a statement, describing Barton's words as "shameful" and calling on members from both parties to repudiate his comments. It became clear how strong the current of outrage ran through the White House -- and what a perfect "inflection point" it was indeed -- when Vice President Joe Biden took the stage at a press conference later that day.

"I find it incredibly insensitive and incredibly out of touch," Biden began. "This is not just about jobs, this is not just about waterfowl -- this is an entire way of life that's in jeopardy. And to sit there to say that he was ashamed . . . or that this was being tough on an oil company . . . people need to disassociate themselves from that. There is no shakedown. I find it outrageous . . . The president said [to BP] . . . Look, I want you to take care of those people [in the gulf] now. What is wrong with that? How is that a shakedown?"

Following Biden's comments, Gibbs upped the ante, saying, "I think Republicans are going to have to ask themselves whether Congressman Barton should be the ranking member of [the House Energy and Commerce Committee], given that he thinks we owe an apology to BP, rather than BP owing an apology to the gulf." When prompted as to whether this was a call for his resignation, Gibbs responded, "I will let Republicans make that decision."

Gibbs used the criticism to draw a broader critique of conservative opposition, saying: "It's hard to tell what planet these people live on. It's hard to understand their viewpoint, but it may explain their votes on financial regulation. It explains the view [as to] whether or not the banks ought to be able to write their own rules and play the game the way they played it several years ago that caused our economy to crash . . . Maybe Congressman Barton should drive to the Gulf Coast and ask the people down there whether his opening bid should have been an apology to BP."

By late Thursday afternoon, Barton had issued a second apology -- this time to those who had "misconstrued" his remarks. It was, perhaps, not enough. Later that day, House GOP leaders John Boehner, Eric Cantor and Michael Pence issued a statement saying Barton's comments were "wrong."

It remains unclear whether Barton will keep his chair on the committee, but one thing is for sure: for the first time since the Deepwater explosion on April 20, the White House has stopped taking blows from all sides and begun punching back.