On his second stop in Mississippi, President Barack Obama chatted with local business owners on the Ken Combs Pier in Gulfport and assured them that the federal government is in this for the long haul.
Obama said he would be working with local businesses to see that they are “made whole.” He also talked about the use of dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico, calling it the “lesser of two evils,” and said this spill has underscored the need for advances in response methods. “They really haven’t developed much over the last 30 to 40 years,” Obama said.
Obama said he would push for new developments by the private sector or via a public-private partnership.
Afterward, Obama walked to a local snow cone stand and ordered one flavored lemon-lime.
“That’s something else we agree on,” quipped Gov. Haley Barbour, who joined Obama on the pier along with his wife, Marsha and the mayor of Gulfport.
Before walking off the pier, Barbour told a gaggle of national photographers to “get a picture of the beach.”
The governor has said repeatedly he feels Mississippi’s tourism season is being negatively impacted by a national media that has failed to differentiate between the beaches of Louisiana and Mississippi.
Obama departed Mississippi for Theodore, Ala., around 1:40 p.m.
