Obama to see tough job of cleaning oily beaches

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama will get a look at how hard it is to clean up beaches and marshes fouled by oil in Louisiana.

Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen says he thinks that's the most important thing for the president to see Friday on his trip to the Gulf Coast.

Allen told CBS' "Early Show" that the technology of BP's latest attempt to stop the massive undersea oil leak is well understood. He says the next 12 to 18 hours will be crucial.

Allen says he wants to show the president how much manpower it takes to clean up oil when it comes ashore, and the difficulty of tracking the oil seeping into remote marshlands and getting enough people there to clean.