By Caren Bohan
June 16, 2010 7:36 AM EDT
President Barack Obama, seeking to counter an image of detached leadership of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, will demand on Wednesday that BP Plc set aside billions of dollars to pay damages from the catastrophe.
A day after he vowed to fight the spill "with everything we've got," Obama was to meet at the White House at 10:15 a.m. (1415 GMT) with the energy giant's executives, the first time he has done so since the crisis began nearly two months ago.
The worst ecological disaster in U.S. history threatens to distract Obama from his domestic agenda of bringing down nearly double-digit U.S. unemployment and reforming Wall Street.
Facing perhaps the biggest challenge of his presidency, Obama accused BP of "recklessness" in a televised address on Tuesday in the solemn setting of the Oval Office.
He also used the speech to call for broad legislation to break the U.S. addiction to fossil fuels.
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But he stopped short of offering specifics on his strategy for reviving climate legislation, a fight that could prove bruising in an election year when his Democratic party is struggling to defend its dominance in the U.S. Congress.
Obama wants BP to establish a fund to guarantee it would cover the billions of dollars needed to clean up the mess and compensate people and businesses hurt by it.
The meeting with the BP executives, along with the Oval Office speech and a two-day trip he took to the Gulf this week, were aimed at showing a hands-on approach to dealing with the spill.
Opinion polls show most Americans believe Obama has been too detached in his handling of it and has not been tough enough towards BP.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will meet with BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg and other executives.
Setting the tone for what could be a strong message to BP, Obama said on Tuesday he would "inform" the BP chairman "that he is to set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners who have been harmed as a result of his company's recklessness."
"And this fund will not be controlled by BP. In order to ensure that all legitimate claims are paid out in a fair and timely manner, the account must and will be administered by an independent, third party," Obama said.
The company executives "look forward" to a constructive meeting with Obama, a BP spokesperson said in a statement.
"We share the president's goal of shutting off the well as quickly as possible, cleaning up the oil and mitigating the impact on the people and environment of the Gulf Coast," the spokesperson said.
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