'Brownie' attacks Obama on oil spill

WASHINGTON, May 6 (UPI) -- Former FEMA Director Michael Brown has accused President Obama of a delayed response to the Louisiana oil spill to stop offshore drilling.

Brown was little known until Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. President George W. Bush's comment -- "Brownie, you're doing one heck of a job" -- and the release of e-mail messages showing Brown touting his personal appearance while much of New Orleans was underwater turned the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency into a punch line.

In recent interviews on MSNBC, CNN and Fox News, Brown has said Obama's response to the spill is "pure politics."

"This president has never supported big oil. He has never supported offshore drilling. And now he has an excuse to shut it back down," Brown told Fox.

MSNBC's Chris Matthews told Brown that a "third party" hearing him would think he "sounded insane."

Thousands of gallons of crude oil have leaked into the Gulf of Mexico since the explosion on an offshore rig.

Brown, who has published a book, told Politico he is not trying to burnish his own image.

"There's that phrase, 'Any publicity is good publicity,'" he said. "I kind of buy into that."