Quote of the Day

"I chant, 'drill baby drill,' because it will help make the country energy independent," she said.

Sarah Palin fired up an enthusiastic Texas crowd late Saturday by criticizing President Barack Obama's handling of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, saying he's falling short on leadership.

The former Alaska governor told about 5,000 people at the Oil Palace in Tyler that the president should have been more aggressive in going after BP executives after the spill. The British company was leasing a rig that exploded April 20, causing the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

"You asked for the job, Mr. President, so buck up," Palin said to voracious applause.

Palin said Obama and the federal government have been too slow in helping victims of the oil spill. She also said there have been too many regulations in allowing residents to begin cleaning up oil along the shoreline and from the water.

"After two months of incompetence from the federal government, they are taking it in their own hands," Palin said.

She also said the U.S. must become independent of foreign oil by using its own resources. But that it must be done responsibly and under government oversight.

The feedback loop is strong in this one. The government is incompetent but must oversee energy independence - by drilling more oil? Or, just foreign oil? Foreign oil from Canada and Mexico?