Texas Gov. says oil spill is an "Act of God"

Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry weighed in on the Gulf oil spill Monday, telling reporters that he had "full confidence" in British Petroleum and suggested the blowout that led to the spill was "an act of God."

Perry repeatedly suggested that the spill was "an act of God" that he hoped would not lead to a "knee jerk" reaction against offshore drilling. "I have concerns about the public being misled," he said, of calls to stop new or existing offshore drilling.

Asked about BP's handling of a 2005 explosion at its Texas City refinery that killed 15 people — and that is still the subject of litigation — Perry praised BP's record since.

"They've got a bull's eye on their back," said Perry, who made no mention of another BP-related environmental disaster, the leakage of crude beginning in November from an oil pipline owned by BP in Alaska.
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