United States President Barack Obama should have picked up the phone a month ago to personally call leaders of countries, heads of companies and experts who may have been able to help deal with the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.
Forming a commission to make policy recommendations about US offshore oil drilling is all fine and good but the US needs help to deal with a crisis that has so far been beyond the capability of the oil giant BP and its subcontractors - and is perhaps even beyond the capability of America on its own.
Those who come to Obama's defence say there really is no specific action that he can take to halt the flow of oil because this is a job for engineers.
Others say government officials have to defer to the expertise of BP because the company has the most experience with its equipment, and the only thing Obama can ensure is that the best engineers are dedicating their time to plugging the oil leak.
And there will be legal battles to fight, of course. Last week, Obama called for the first time for a criminal investigation into the company, after a week of allegations about safety short cuts on the rig. There have already been calls for the US government to seize BP's assets or place the company in temporary receivership if the leak could not be stopped very soon.
But is that really enough? In exceptional times with an extraordinary challenge, leadership is about rallying support to crack the problem. Oil has been gushing into the sea for more than a month now, with disastrous effects.
There has been no clear answer about how to stop the spill but, as soon as it appeared that BP didn't really have a quick solution - about a week into the disaster - Obama should have swung into action by seeking help from others around the world.