Leading off on the right, the message begins at the headline: Obama vs. BP (and You) and continues with the subheading: The government holds a company's stock price hostage.
The lefty takes a different approach: Britain Cries Foul Over BP and continues in the subheading: Thatcher's heirs may be the only people on the planet to regard Obama's response as swift and effective.
Frank only had to read the column at the top of the page where his appeared to see Thatcher's heirs are not the only ones.
In BP's case this week, the company's stock price hasn't just been taken hostage by Washington, it has been wrapped around management's neck and progressively tightened. The sight hasn't been an edifying one, not least because the target isn't just BP.
BP has authored one of the country's great industrial accidents and expects fully to pay through the nose. You could wish, in this light, Washington's politicians didn't seem quite so much like muggers standing on a street corner waiting for a vulnerable passerby. For one thing, it doesn't benefit the victims, who will continue to line up for years to come, if BP can't reinvest to sustain and grow its business.
Turns out they are not all muggers: here is a Republican representative:
GOP leaders forced Rep. Barton to retract apology to BP
Washington Post - - 2 hours ago
Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, accused the White House of conducting a "$20 billion shakedown" by requiring oil giant BP to establish a fund to compensate those hurt by the Gulf Coast oil spill.
Video: Biden: Barton Criticism of BP Fund 'Outrageous' The Associated Press
US Gulf Oil Spill BP's Ally The Associated Press
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