The Al Gore Oil Slick: call me confused

Lots of questions don't seem to be making it into the major media these days about the Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. Oil Slick Disaster. First of all, while crude oil is very flammable, it's not explosive. What led to the explosion, then? Some reports suggest a valve failed to release; why wasn't there a backup to something so critical in place, or at least an override to open it when pressure became too great?

Next, when authorities had a pre-approved burn plan to remove oil slicks, it's been delayed ten days while......the Obama administration sent lawyers instead of geologists and engineers to help, and has been spending a lot of time--before we even know exactly what caused the disaster--blustering on and on about how it was all BP's fault and how they would pay.

I can excuse lawyer Obama's ignorance of the engineering needs of an oil rig and cleanup from accidents, but I can't excuse his ignorance of how civil and criminal courts work to establish culpability and implement remedies. His habit of attacking perceived opponents instead of finding viable solutions is wearing very, very thin with me.