Gulf residents eye slow fix for historic oil spill

Hope turns to relief well, two months away

VENICE, Louisiana - BP Plc's oil well plug failed on Saturday, practically ending any optimism among residents of the United States' Gulf coast that the mammoth spill fouling their waters will stop any time soon.

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