President Obama @ Pensacola NAS

President Obama speaks to military at Pensacola NAS

President Barack Obama is telling residents of coastal Florida areas threatened by the spreading Gulf of Mexico oil spill that his administration will be with them for the long haul.

Obama says that includes making sure British oil company BP pays for the damage it has done, that Florida gets the help it needs to protect its coast and that such an environmental disaster never happens again.

The president spoke to military personnel this morning at Pensacola Naval Air Station, the last stop of a two-day visit to coastal areas affected by the spill.

He spent the night in downtown Pensacola and began the day with a stroll along Pensacola Beach. Obama returns to Washington this afternoon to prepare for his primetime Oval Office address on the oil spill.

President Barack Obama and Gov. Charlie Crist tour Pensacola Beach this morning

President Barack Obama toured Pensacola Beach this morning, where spectators greeted him with cheers and chants: "Save our beach! Save our beach!"

The water was emerald green and seemingly clear of tar balls this morning as the president walked to the water's edge and looked toward the horizon, where weathered oil and sheens loom close to our shores. Down the beach, swimmers were in the water. Hundreds of people gathered 200 yards away.

Obama then visited the Fish Sandwich Snack Bar, a Pensacola Beach landmark, and talked with owners Mike and Laura Pinzone.

The president's stop at the snack bar lasted nearly an hour, during which he also got a briefing from Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen and Gov. Charlie Crist.

Afterward, he told members of the press that he'd heard stories similar to the Pinzones' in Mississippi and Alabama and pledged to get help for local businesses.

The important work right now, he said, is just to make sure people like Mike Pinzone are able to get through what is going to be a tough time.

"I told Mike -- and I want every business person here in Florida to know -- that I will be their fierce advocate in making sure that they are getting the compensation they need to get through what is going to be a difficult season," he said.

Obama said they were making sure skimmers were out in the waters and that each state now has its own deputy incident commanders.

He said even though businesses are open and the beaches were clean, tourism was "still affected by perception."

The president arrived at the beach shortly before 9 a.m. Boom was visible in the waterways as the motorcade drove over the Pensacola Bay bridge. In Gulf Breeze, spectators lined the route to wave and take pictures. Several onlookers held signs showing support and frustration -- such as "Kick Tony's ass for us. This is ridiculous." Another said, "Thanks for your support, Mr. President. You still have mine."

Waiting at Pensacola Beach this morning, Greg Simonds was just hoping for some kind of progress in the ongoing oil debacle.

"We just want some resolution," the 27-year-old Pensacola man said. "Everybody says they are doing something. It doesn't seem like they are."

Simonds said the spill has already canceled a fishing tournament he and his son planned to participate in.

"We've lived here all our lives," he said. "It's going to be destroyed."

Heather Shimp and her 12-year-old daughter, Lily, were also at the beach early this morning to wait for the president.

“I don’t know exactly what he’s going to accomplish,” said Heather Shimp, a Pensacola resident. “I think a lot of it is show, but I guess I am glad he is here. It’s just a tough situation. It’s hard to even wrap your mind around what it happening.”

President Obama visits Pensacola

President Obama will discuss the strength and resilience of the American people in a program Tuesday at Pensacola Naval Air Station, a White House spokeswoman said this afternoon.

The president will deliver a message of support to Pensacola and Panhandle communities affected by the oil spill and a message of support to troops in time of war.

Coast Guard closes Pensacola Pass

The Coast Guard authorized the closure of Pensacola Pass on Friday as massive sheets of red and orange oil loomed about six miles offshore.

Friday morning, large plumes of weathered crude oil were spotted six to nine miles south of Pensacola Pass during state reconnaissance flights.

During an overflight of the area in a small aircraft Friday afternoon, a News Journal reporter and photographer spotted a massive oil sheen beginning about six miles from Pensacola Pass and extending southwest to the horizon.

The leading edges of the sheen were streaked by large red and orange plumes of weathered oil and scattered yellow-brown tar balls.

Collier Merrill, co-owner of The Fish House - Morning Joe

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

June 10: Collier Merrill, co-owner of The Fish House, previews Morning Joe's special show live from Fla. tomorrow and tells about the effects of the oil spill on small businesses in the Gulf.

Florida posts first signs to warn beachgoers of oil

Health advisory signs were posted at the entrance to Perdido Key, Fla., beaches after oil began washing up Wednesday. Large amounts of the oily tar balls have appeared on beaches in the western Florida Panhandle.

New signs in Florida's western Panhandle warn beachgoers not to swim or fish along a six-mile stretch befouled by the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Late Tuesday, the Escambia County Health Department started posting the signs -- the first on Florida beaches since the spill began April 20 -- after heavier tar balls and a mousse-like tar substance were reported off Perdido Key, Fla., reports the Associated Press. Tar balls began washing ashore on county beaches Friday.

The health advisory, posted on beaches from Perdido Key to the Gulf Islands Seashore national park, warns people not to swim or fish in the water and to avoid all skin contact with oily water or dead sea animals.

"Young children, pregnant women, people with compromised immune systems and individuals with underlying respiratory conditions should avoid the area," it says. Officials say violators will not be fined or punished, reports AP.

Doc Kokol, spokesman for the Florida Department of Health, said county health departments -- not his agency -- decide whether to post beach advisories and the presence of a sheen or mousse-- not tar balls -- is usually the trigger, according to the AP. "(Tar balls) are a nuisance, but they pose little health risk," he said.