( CNN ) -- In the weeks since an oil rig exploded and later sank into the Gulf of Mexico , President Obama has dealt with the tragedy with his signature cool , calm and collected approach . But with the oil still gushing in what is now the worst spill in U.S. history and the environmental devastation coming ashore , the president is becoming a target of the anger that was originally directed only at BP . `` One time , go off ! '' director Spike Lee urged on CNN 's `` AC 360° . '' `` If there 's any one time to go off , this is it , because this is a disaster . '' Lee 's sentiment echoes the frustration of people who want to see Obama get loud , take charge and inspire them like he did during his presidential run . Recalling then-candidate Obama 's ability to rouse crowds into chants of `` Yes , we can , '' presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said , `` There was a feeling he was going to be one of these presidents that moved us with words the way John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan did in recent decades . '' Instead , Obama has presented himself as the unflappable president , with the engineer-like approach of Jimmy Carter and the legislative astuteness of Lyndon Johnson , Brinkley said . `` But in a time of great crisis , people are n't looking for Johnson or Carter . They are looking for powerful rhetorical leadership -- words that move the country in a positive direction , '' he said . Gloria Borger : We got the president we elected . The president has visited the region twice since the oil spill , most recently the Friday before Memorial Day weekend . Obama brought the tragedy to a more personal level , telling the public that he grew up in a place where the ocean is sacred , so he understands the emotional connection -- but it was only a brief aside in an otherwise straightforward address . It was hardly the outpouring that came from Louisiana Democrat Charlie Melancon , who broke into tears last week at a Capitol Hill hearing about the oil spill . `` Our culture is threatened . Our coastal economy is threatened . And everything that I know and love is at risk , '' Melancon , who represents many of the affected Louisiana shoreline areas , told his Capitol Hill colleagues . Unable to finish reading his prepared statement , Melancon submitted it for the congressional record and then walked out of the hearing room as other lawmakers sought to comfort him . And it was hardly the advocacy that 's come from Republican Gov . Bobby Jindal , also of Louisiana . In a column on CNN.com , Ruben Navarrette wrote that due to Obama 's lackluster response , `` Bobby has Barack on the ropes and he is coming across as more passionate and more presidential . '' White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was pushed Tuesday to back up his claim that Obama is enraged by the situation . `` I 've seen rage from him . I have , '' Gibbs said at the daily briefing . Asked to describe it , Gibbs pointed to the president 's `` clenched jaw '' and his call to `` plug the damn hole . '' The president has been actively engaged in the crisis -- firing the head of the Minerals Management Service , extending the moratorium on further offshore drilling and increasing the federal presence in the region . But instead of a galvanizing cry of outrage at the failed efforts to cap the undersea gusher , Obama 's made the `` let 's not panic '' appeal , Brinkley said . `` With each BP failure , I think the American people have wanted to feel that the president is not just in the saddle but is leading the charge , and he 's fallen short in this regard , '' he said . Despite the pummeling he 's received from pundits , it 's not too late for Obama to take charge of the narrative , Brinkley said , suggesting that the White House set up a command center in the Gulf to provide a clearinghouse for ideas and that Obama take on a more integral part of the catastrophe by spending more time in the area , meeting with fishermen and locals instead of just dropping by . The White House has started to take a more aggressive approach , with Attorney General Eric Holder 's announcement Tuesday that the Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into the oil spill . The Obama administration also will no longer do joint briefings with BP on the spill , and instead will have former Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen handle the daily briefings on his own , senior administration officials told CNN on Tuesday . The change is an effort to control the message , release accurate information about the oil spill and speak in one voice to deliver the daily message on latest developments , officials said . Obama needs to build on the momentum with a primetime address and a heartfelt message to the American people , Brinkley said . `` There is a craving for a different kind of crisis leadership from President Obama largely because he 's so capable of it as we saw on the campaign trail in 2008 , '' he said . `` When he lets go and talks from the heart , he 's one of the most effective political figures in modern times . '' CNN 's Suzanne Malveaux contributed to this report .
Obama has been criticized for seeming disconnected from the tragedy in Obama . In a time of crisis , people want `` powerful rhetorical leadership , '' presidential historian says . `` I 've seen rage from him . I have , '' Obama press secretary Brinkley says . Robert Gibbs : The craving for such crisis leadership from Louisiana is `` because he 's so capable of it ''