BP Plc’s “top kill” oil well plug failed on Saturday, practically killing any optimism among Gulf coast residents that the mammoth spill fouling their coast and fishing industry will end any time soon.

Even U.S. President Barack Obama, hit with a tide of criticism that he is not sufficiently in command of the largest oil spill in U.S. history, has tried to lower expectations of a short-term fix.

U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Mary Landry, standing by as a BP executive told the world that the tricky top kill procedure had failed, said they needed to manage people’s expectations better for a crisis soon entering its seventh week.