Late Saturday night the Obama administration announced that they want BP to put "substantial"funds into an escrow account to cover claims by Gulf Coast residents and businesses affected by the disaster.  As White House senior adviser David Axelrod explained on Meet the Press:

Well, we want to make sure that money is escrowed for the, the legitimate claims that are going to be made and are being made by businesses down in the Gulf, people who've been damaged by this.  And, and we want to make sure that that money is independently administered so that there won't be slow-walk on these claims.  There are people there who live from pay—from week to week and whose livelihoods have been, have been taken away from them here, and we want to make sure that they can get through this.

If that sounds similar to a call that Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum made last week, it's because it is.

On Thursday, McCollum sent a letter to BP requesting that the oil giant put $2.5 billion in escrow for Florida.  Similarly, Louisiana's Treasurer requested $5 billion for an escrow fund.

Last night McCollum's campaign team triumphed the fact that the White House had taken up the call, writing in a press release that, "I called for last week to ensure that there would be funds available for Florida and its residents and businesses s we work toward a long-term recovery process.  If the report is true, the President's echoing of my call for an escrow account is welcome…"

But hours earlier, another Florida Republican, Senator George LeMieux, was also taking credit for being the first elected official in the Sunshine State making such a call.

LeMieux's office issued a press released, and embedded inside it via e-mail was a video with the junior Senator requested at least $1 billion to BP's Lamar McKay back on May 11.

Youtube video

So, what's the point?  Well, as the Miami Herald's Patricia Mazzei reported this weekend, these are politicians, and they absolutely want it to be known that during this crises, they were providing leadership and good ideas.

This article appears in Jun 10-16, 2010.