Obama Tours Gulf Region
President Obama has been observing the recovery efforts from the BP oil leak:
Panama City, Florida (CNN) -- President Obama toured the waters off Panama City Beach by boat on Sunday as he capped a weekend visit aimed at sparking a recovery in the region hard-hit by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The president, first lady Michelle Obama and their younger daughter Sasha stood at the bow of the excursion boat watching porpoises jump around them.
Speaking before a Saturday afternoon dip with his daughter, Obama said his administration remains committed to ensuring a full cleanup and recovery for a region hard-hit by the disaster -- and expressed hope that his holiday on the beach would change public perception and soften the economic blow of the largest oil spill in U.S. history.
"As a result of the cleanup effort, beaches all along the Gulf Coast are clean, safe, and open for business," he said. "That's one of the reasons Michelle, Sasha, and I are here."
Panama City Beach was hit by scattered tar balls and patches of oil from the ruptured undersea well at the heart of the disaster. But the bulk of the spill hit further west, near the mouth of the Mississippi River, and authorities are still struggling with the cleanup effort.
Obama said Saturday that "Our job is not finished, and and we are not going anywhere until it is."
"That's a message I wanted to come here and deliver directly to the people along the Gulf Coast," Obama said after meeting with government and business leaders in the Florida Panhandle resort. "Because it's the men and women of this region who have felt the burden of this disaster, who have watched with anger and dismay as their livelihoods and way of life were threatened these past few months."
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