BP Pledges to 'Make This Right' – As Soon As it Emerges From Bankruptcy Protection?

I had a hard time swallowing BP's full-page public relations ad yesterday. I saw it at WSJ, but it ran in NYT as well. See the full image at Advertising Age, "BP Print Ads Promise to 'Make This Right'." This line really sticks out: "We will honor all legitimate claims." Well, BP's aleady paying out millions in compensation to at least 25,000 people, and that number could go into the 100s of thousands. Even an industry behemoth like BP holds limited financial power. Serously. I suspect they'll go bankrupt before they'll be able to "honor all legitimate claims. See Fox News for more on that, "BP's Shaky Financial Condition Spurs Talk of U.S. Takeover," and Energy & Capital, "Exploring the Possibility of a BP Bankruptcy."

BP CEO Tony Hayward's at today's WSJ, "What BP Is Doing About the Gulf Gusher." And his PR clip:

RELATED: At NYT, "Cap Is Collecting Oil, but Result of Effort Is Still Unclear," and Bloomberg, "Obama Heads to Gulf as Spill ‘Furor’ Shifts Toward White House" (via Memeorandum).