The government didn't ensure offshore safety?

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar acknowledged Tuesday that the government did not have adequate standards in place for the devices that are supposed to prevent blowouts on off-shore oil rigs.

The blowout preventer on the Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded and sank on April 20, was not able to stop the flow of oil. Congressional investigators have found that it suffered from leaking hydraulic fluid, a dead battery and an inadequate design.

"The answer is no," Salazar said in response to a pointed question from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., about the government standards on the device. "I think there is additional work that should have been done on blowout preventers."

Salazar faced sometimes hostile questions before the Senate Energy Committee on how the government is responding to the oil spill that is threatening thousands of miles of Gulf of Mexico coastline.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/environment/2010-05-18-oil-spill-hearings_N.htm

The "government" is not some anthropomorphic entity.

The "government" is the people who hold government jobs, whether by election or appointment.

If Interior Secretary Ken Salazar thinks the government "did not have adequate standards in place for the devices that are supposed to prevent blowouts on off-shore oil rigs", and if the government failed because "there is additional work that should have been done on blowout preventers", maybe he should fire the person responsible, i.e., Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.