President Barack Obama sought to reassure Americans today that the Gulf Coast would «bounce back» from the worst oil spill in U.S. history, but not without time, effort and reimbursement from BP, according to AP. Surrounded by Cabinet members, Obama said that not only is he confident that the crisis will pass but also that the affected area «comes back even stronger than ever.» The president has been speaking out on the disaster almost daily and has visited the Louisiana coast three times since the April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers and unleashed the oil gusher. How he is seen handling the disaster by the American public could define his second year in office. The president and top federal officials were briefed on the government's battle against the spill by Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, who is overseeing the government's efforts in dealing with the tragedy. Allen earlier Monday told reporters that a cap on the damaged oil well is now keeping up to 462,000 gallons (1.7 million liters) of oil a day from leaking into the Gulf. That is up from about 441,000 gallons (1.6 million liters) on Saturday and about 250,000 (965,000 liters) on Friday. «This will be contained,» Obama asserted. «It may take some time, and it's going to take a whole lot of effort. There is going to be damage done to the Gulf Coast, and there is going to be economic damages that we've got to make sure BP is responsible for and compensates people for.» Obama said that government scientists and other experts confirmed that the capping device «is beginning to capture some of the oil. We are still trying to make a better determination as to how much it is capturing.»
