Guardian: The Obama administration took defensive action today over early assurances that a sunken BP rig was not leaking crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, issuing a 6,000-word timeline of its actions to try to contain the disaster, and dispatching a phalanx of administration officials to the region. The move came on a day when BP registered its first success in plugging one of the leaks from a well that is spewing 5,000 gallons (23,000 litres) a day into the Gulf of Mexico. The action …