Barbour: Media doing more damage than oil spill

'The coast is clear. Come on down!'

The BP oil spill is causing less damage to the state of Mississippi than the media, according to Gov. Haley Barbour.

"Well, the truth is, Chris, we have had virtually no oil," Barbour told Fox News' Chris Wallace Sunday.

"We have had a few tar balls but we have tar balls every year as a natural product of the Gulf of Mexico. Fifty thousand to 750,000 barrels of oil seep in the Gulf of Mexico through the floor every year. So tar balls are no big deal," said Barbour.

"The biggest negative impact for us has been the news coverage," the governor continued. "There has been no distinction between Grand Isle and Venice and the places in Louisiana that we feel so terrible for that have had oil washing up on them."

Barbour added: "The average viewer [of] this show thinks that the whole coast from Florida to Texas is ankle-deep in oil. ... Our tourist season has been hurt by the mis-perception of what is going on down here. The Mississippi Gulf Coast is beautiful. As I tell people, the coast is clear. Come on down!"

This video is from Fox's Fox News Sunday, broadcast June 6, 2010.

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