Obama defends his Gulf spill response

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says he's been talking closely to Gulf Coast fishermen and experts on BP's catastrophic oil spill not for academic reasons but "so I know whose ass to kick."

Obama in an interview with NBC to be aired on Tuesday's "Today" show defended his engagement with the crisis that began with the April 20 explosion on a BP-leased oil rig in the Gulf, killing 11 workers and starting the nation's largest-ever oil spill.

Some have criticized the president for not engaging enough on the spill, even though he's been to the Gulf coast three times since the disaster. Obama told NBC's Matt Lauer that on his first visit a month ago he talked in the rain "about what a potential crisis this could be."

NBC aired part of the interview Monday night.