The President made his second trip to the Gulf Coast Friday announcing his administration had tripled the manpower along the shoreline, beefing up a government response effort to contain and remove oil more quickly.

20,000 personnel are currently responding to protect the shoreline and wildlife. The President also stressed that executives from throughout his cabinet are working with people throughout Louisiana and across the region to work night and day to end the crisis.

Approximately 1,400 vessels are responding on site, including skimmers, tugs, barges, and recovery vessels to assist in containment and cleanup efforts—in addition to dozens of aircraft, remotely operated vehicles, and multiple mobile offshore drilling units.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Thad Allen, who is in charge of overseeing the federal response to the BP oil leak, announced yesterday that BP’s “top kill” is working, halting the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico since last month’s Deepwater Horizon explosion.

“He performed magnificently in a crisis,” said Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to USA Today. “Nobody could have done it better.”  (Read the rest of the profile at Politics Daily)

Meanwhile, “President Barack Obama is encouraging Americans to visit the Gulf Coast despite the huge offshore oil spill, reports the AP.

At a White House news conference Thursday, Obama said while three beaches in Louisiana have been fouled by oil, the rest of the region’s beaches are clean and safe. He says Gulf state governors have asked him “to remind everybody” the beaches are open.