Walking that tightrope between tourism and oil fears
Mississippi officials are walking a difficult tightrope between trying to honestly deal with both the realities and the fears of the Deepwater Horizon oil well accident in the Gulf and immediate concerns for salvaging the current tourist season for Coast residents whose livelihoods depend upon it.
However well intentioned his remarks, Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant was the first official to fall off that tightrope last week.
During a May 12 speech at the Coastal Development Strategies Conference at the Mississippi Coast Convention Center, Bryant told a story about an encounter with a Coast resident earlier in the week who told him he could smell “gasoline” when he walked outside his home.
“Well, he might want to check his lawn mower,” Bryant said. “That is not gasoline coming out of the Gulf.”
Clarion-Ledger
5/18/10
Magnolia Tribune
