The Nuclear Option is Off the Table in the BP Oil Leak

Well, there is nothing like a controlled nuclear explosion a mile below the Gulf of Mexico to make people a little nervous. I guess they would use a neutron bomb instead of a regular nuclear warhead that could aid radiation to the list of things that they would have to clean up.

But William J. Broad of the New York Times reported Thursday that the Obama administration had ruled out going nuclear on the well. Indeed, he reported, "The nuclear option was not — and never had been — on the table, federal officials said.

"'It's crazy,' one senior official said."

If this spill actually lasts until August or the relief wells fail to stop the leak then the nuclear option will probably be the last bullet in the gun. In that case you can pretty much forget deep water drilling from here on in.