it could be under the microscope for months, how the white house manages it. on the ground on the gulf coast, a rain-soaked president obama defended his handling of an oil spill that s spreading. from day one, we have prepared and planned for the worse even as we hoped for the best. reporter: it was a response to the high octane blame game revving up in washington. this incident occurred on april the 20th. it wasn t until april the 28th until the administration fully deployed federal resources. reporter: republicans have zeroed in on the spill timeline. b.p. oil rig exploded on april 20th. three days later, the coast guard says no oil was leaking from the well. the next day, the coast guard revealed oil actually was saeping out. on the 29th, the department of homeland security designated the spill of national significance. that same day, a coast guard official referred to b.p. as a partner in the crisis and then corrected herself. given the professionism of
some critics are calling this obama s hurricane katrina. jim acosta joins us live. reporter: pushing back big time, john and kiran. administration officials are warning the oil spill in the gulf is a slow motion disaster that could end up being worse and more expensive than the exxon valdez. how they handle it could be under the microscope for months. on the ground in the gulf coast, a rain-soaked president obama defended his handling of an oil spill that s spreading. from day one we have prepared and planned for the worst. reporter: it was a response to the high octane blame game in washington. it wasn t until april the 28th until the administration fully deployed federal