President Barack Obama, who has been under pressure to show a strong response to the spill, said he was committed to standing by communities along the Gulf Coast well beyond the final sealing of the well.

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The government made a huge mistake when in the first few days of the catastrophe it did not form a partnership with BP, work out and assign responsibilities, and then get on with sealing the well, protecting the wetlands and cleaning up the oil together.

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Then there is Halliburton, which was contracted to cement the production liner in the well casing, effectively sealing off the reservoir from the well bore.

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Halliburton ( HAL - news - people ), which was contracted to cement the production liner in the well casing, effectively sealing off the reservoir from the well bore.

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By all accounts, the sealing problem has now been licked as well.

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We are simply talking about plugging holes, sealing a porous system that isn't working as well as it should.

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The mile-deep well was pronounced dead in September when workers completed sealing it off.

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