( CNN ) -- Coming back this weekend after a stay in Europe , I had that distinct sensation -- last felt when Lehman Brothers capsized , setting off the Great Recession -- that we once again find ourselves at the mercy of events and people just beyond our control . Here at home , one hears that by Wednesday dawn , we will know whether BP 's latest big try to stop the oil spill will work . If it does , we can begin to feel that we are moving in the right direction , but if it does n't -- well , no one is quite sure what Plan D looks like . Is this really where we have come : that the fate of our precious coastlines and the waters off our coasts are in the hands of a single foreign-based company ? A month ago , it looked like the White House was on top of this problem , as Cabinet officers scurried here and there , the Coast Guard and others swung into action , there were talks with BP , and the president paid a personal visit . But increasingly , it has become apparent that the federal government may be present but is not in charge . It keeps saying that BP bears ultimate responsibility . It is keeping the press away . No wonder James Carville , Chris Matthews and Donna Brazile exploded late last week . They are right on a basic point : Ultimately it is not the responsibility of BP or any other company to protect American interests but the responsibility of the federal government . Some Obama supporters have argued that the 1990 Oil Pollution Act limits the president 's capacity to take action . Others disagree . Either way , in an emergency , laws can be changed . Although this disaster is not an existential threat , it could be argued that if the U.S. government had fought World War II in the same way it has fought the oil spill , we might well be speaking German now . Faced with a growing danger to our well-being , a WWII-type government would at minimum have : . • Brought in the CEOs of all the major oil companies and charged them with the duty of an all-hands collaborative effort to stop the spill and help ward off the damage . • Brought in the best minds in the country , from universities and technology , for emergency efforts to find solutions . • Moved quickly to mobilize the National Guard and other military forces , if necessary , ensuring that they received the resources needed to protect our beaches . • Made a clear call to citizen volunteers to help where necessary . • Given Cabinet officers an ultimatum : Get this under control in the next 30 days , or else . There will be ample time after this disaster for finger-pointing and blame-laying . The key now is to get this spill under control before it does far more damage . Meanwhile , the Washington Post had it exactly right Monday morning when it argued that with the European crisis spreading now beyond Greece , `` the knife-edge psychology currently governing global markets has put the future of the U.S. economic recovery in the hands of politicians in an assortment of European capitals . '' Across Europe , one finds people stunned at the rapidity with which this crisis has grown , threatening not only their weak economies but also their dreams of a European utopia with people living a honeyed existence . All that could go smash now . Indeed , it is ironic that Europe may now be forced to give up its strong welfare state even as the U.S. is moving toward it . But the immediate point is that the U.S. finds itself too much at the mercy of whether European politicians and publics now make the right moves . It may take a while , but Americans are going to start feeling a lot happier about our country when we once again believe we have strong control of own destiny . Leadership , anyone ? The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Gergen .
David Gergen : Growing concern that government is not responding adequately to oil spill . He says it does n't make sense that fate of U.S. coast is in hands of one company . Determined government response would have mobilized more resources , he says .