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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's chief of staff says BP chief executive Tony Hayward has committed yet another in a "long line of PR gaffes" but attending a yacht race in England while the Gulf oil spill disaster continues.

Hayward faced a fresh avalanche of criticism as news circulated Saturday that he was at a yacht competition around the Isle of Wight.

White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is mocking Hayward's infamous statement that he wishes the crisis were over so could have his life back.

Referring to the yachting, Emanuel tells ABC's "This Week," ''He's got his life back, as he would say."

Emanuel says the focus should stay on capping the leaking well and helping the people of the Gulf region.