The White House vs. BP, common sense, and the rule of law.

Offshore drilling, even in shallow water, is coming to a stop as the entire industry considers the additional political risks of operating amid a political panic in which even the President of United States seems oblivious to the rule of law. We hope BP resists Mr. Obama's demands to put a political actor in control of its Gulf payments—both for the sake of legitimate Gulf claims, and to vindicate the U.S. as a nation that doesn't discard the law for the sake of political retribution.

We also hope other politicians, in the U.S. or U.K., begin to push back against a White House more concerned about its poll numbers than about the U.S. or Gulf Coast economies.