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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Obama Says Gulf Beaches ‘Clean.’ Really?

In his May 27 press conference on the oil spill, President Barack Obama declared Gulf Coast beaches safe and encouraged Americans to visit them. “Except for three beaches in Louisiana, all of the Gulf’s beaches are open, they are safe and they are clean,” he said. But it depends on your definition of “safe” and “clean,” and you had better hurry up, because the coast states are bracing for more closures.

Alabama hasn’t closed any beaches,