Whatever you think of big oil, big corporations or big disasters, you have to appreciate the public relations efforts of BP. They are masterful.

- They avoided big advertising campaigns in favor of grass-roots town-hall meetings in affected areas and social networking.
- They have talked continuously about their role in the disaster and their plans to try and stop it with cutting-edge techniques.
- Their people are visible and available for comment.

There will be plenty of lawsuits and blame to go around once this thing is capped. And they certainly won't please everybody, especially people opposed to off-shore drilling or those in the Gulf states who depend on the ocean for their living.
But BP has learned the lessons of Toyota and Exxon, which will only help them in the court of public opinion as they try to recover.