Obama Attempts to Explain Shift on Offshore Drilling

I just think that Obama is being pratical.
If there is an energy bill in which Dems and Repubs can compromise with that includes what he has proposed to get us off oil such as increased mileage in cars, hybrid cars, windfall oil taxes for research, etc, he would be willing to accept some limited off-shore drilling.
I don’t have a problem with that.
The art of compromise.

Unlike the writer who says that Obama’s shift plays into McCain’s hands, I think the opposite.
Obama has just taken an issue off the table. Also, it shows that he is willing to compromise to get ACTION in Washington to attend to people’s problems rather deadlock.
It is interesting that many on the left agree with Obama on this.

What in the heck does this guy stand for?

I don’t think it is an attempt to explain a shift. I think what he said was that they may need to compromise if they wanted to get things done.
When was the last time you heard that? McCain is going to slam him for working across the isle?
I agree though that off shore drilling will amount to nothing, we are better served by coming to terms with the need to shift to alternatives, for a number of reasons, including cost, availability, and environmental concerns connected with oil.

I read this to say that President Obama wouldn’t veto such legislation and Senator Obama would not show up to vote on such legislation

Who is Obama? What does he stand for? Where is his experience? Why on earth should he be president?
Dem for McCain

Sandy,
I have to disagree. Obama has zero political experience. He had only been in the senate for 1 year when he ran for office. If he his flip-flopping all over the place why would anyone feel comfortable voting for him? What would they be voting for? his stardom?
NO socialites in the White House!
Democrat for McCain!

Anyone who thinks this plays well for McCain listens to too many sound-bites.

Uh, so compromise is now bad? He said clearly he didn’t think offshore drilling will help, but how else do you expect the Dems to get anything done when they only have a narrow majority? Vote for more Dems in Congress and you won’t see as much compromise with Republicans, simple as that ;-)

Obama promises a lot but is short on details unless he’s firmly pressed to do so. Then, we discover he’s cloning himself after McCain.

I thought it was exactly the right thing to do and say. That they need to drill where we gave them already…
and I wouldn’t be surprised if he says…not only will we open more areas if we see significant movement and ethics with how you drill in the areas we gave…but if you don’t drill in the areas we gave you that have oil (Just not the windfall profits that you are trying to raise by finding even better loscations) then we are going to slap you with a windfall profits tax and take those areas away and give them to companies that will.

JA…
you’re absloultely, without a doubt, correct. the majority of americans want us to drill. people are pissed, and pressure is being applied to congress to act. republicans are BEGGING at this point for pelosi and the dems to actually work on this. but, of course, they are playing election time politics. playing games with the american people. now, due to the growing pressure, obama changes his tune. based soley on POLLS on what the american people want. this guy has absolutley no backbone and is a puppet. i just cant believe he has suppoters like he does.

SW Missouri:
I’m right there with you on the Cheney Energy bill. You do know that of the two remaining candidates, only Obama voted FOR it and McCain voted AGAINST it, right?
So don’t assume that McCain, as a republican is the big bad guy here. Obama is the one getting “bundles” from the oil and gas guys ….

I appreciate your analysis of my intelligence, JA.
However, needing to resort to ad hominem attacks is usually considered to reveal a weakness in your reasoning skills, not intellectual superiority.
I’d like to know YOUR standard of discerning a legitimate compromise from a pandering position, and while your at explain to me how McCain hasn’t “compromised” on nearly every single issue.
I can link to a list if you would like to study the information in more depth.

JA
He is not flip flopping…
he is saying we do not open up the shores because the oil company lobby is telling us they need more places with oil…all the while they have shown there is oil where they already have permission to drill and they are not really drilling.
They want the best case scenario and John mcCain’s advisors and the oil lobby are spending a lot of money to get the federal regulations rolled back for them …so they can go after state officials with that same amount of money and lobbying…
think about the shark fest that will happen on the state level with small time local political officials if the gates get opened to the oil lobby.
Obama is saying I will hold that carrot out there…but he is saying what McCain isn’t…”Oil companies…you need to drill where your profit margin may not be as great but stalling on those acres because you see abetter profit margin in more areas…isn’t going to happen anymore”
either you drill in the areas we gave you (which HAVE OIL no matter how the republicans want to spin it) or we are going to slap you not only with a windfall profits tax that will go to coming up with alternative fuels and the ailing car companies…but we will start taking that acreage away from you and giving it to companies that will drill.
now why hasn’t McCain said that?
becasue he is to busy spinning it for his lobbyist political team that came over fromthe Bush Cheney administration…because that is the team he has to use for a republican run at the white house.
and that is the truth.

MKoch,
I am not here to defend McCain. Without a doubt he is a flip flopper as well. Unfortunately, this has already been priced into the McCain brand. And now, unfortunately, it is being priced into the Obama brand.
Take away Obama’s “new politics” and what are you left with? An empty suit, full of rhetoric, with little experience and no major life accomplishments.
Recognize the truth. You voted for a concept – and concept who is changing his colors by the day.

first off, im not a huge supporter of john mccain either. its a lesser of two evils vote again. but let me say this…. changing your mind on a troop pullout is different than changing your mind on drilling for oil! the war situation is changing from day to day. its hard to set a “deadline” on the unpredictable. the oil situation is different. most people have their idea of how to deal with the energy crisis. its more of a fundamental idea versus a situation that is constantly changing. but obama, changed his mind simply due to THE POLLS. the guy dosnt stand for anything.

dl
I don’t believe any of those people are oil lobbyists. Can you name your source? Thanks!

with 70+% of the amerian population (as per recent polls) in favor of drilling, of coarse obama is going to compromise if he wants to win this election.

The article title is misleading. I see no shift in policy. Obama still opposes offshore drilling. He’s simply using it as a bargaining chip to get what he wants. Sounds smart to me.
This compromise idea calls the GOP’s bluff. Even they know offshore drilling won’t do anything. If they compromise on that issue, they’ll end up giving Obama what he wants, and end up getting something they never really wanted that much.
- Independent against Irrationality

And just to be clear, I see that Obama has clearly stated that he is willing to support SOME off shore drilling even though he opposes it IF it will get Congress to accept some other additional goals.
I would consider this compromise, not flip-flopping. Flip-flopping would accepting off-shore drilling with no limits and championing it as some sort of solution.

Another interesting point to consider is that, again, historically, the people who could be most damaged by drilling – people on the coastlines – have been against drilling.
There is reason to give them a larger say in the overall vote, because they have to deal with the consequence, whereas others don’t.
(I have the same opinion about nuclear waste storage too. It’s very easy to say stick in someone else’s backyard, when the consequences won’t ever effect YOU.)
But now, for the first time, just this month, a slim majority is willing to accept off shore drilling. If a candidate is exercising the will of the people, wouldn’t that mean it would be a GOOD thing to change his stand?
(Damn those flip-flopping American citizens! Can’t they make up their minds and stick to it?)

alex Why not take McCain’s policies?
He’s already taken Clintons.

Add another flip-flop to his list — well he is known for that already. Why did he start talking about compromise now, not two weeks ago, now one month ago? He was so strong against off-shore drilling. What made the change?

thanks Mkoch
sometimes it is really frustrating to the extent that Mccain supporters will just make stuff up and not go do the research that Obama supporters keep screaming for them to do…ugh.
and we wonder why we ended up where we are.

Amy, the bi-partisan committee coming out with a compromise is what made the change. He’s saying he will support it, with reservations, if the other measures go with it.
I know “flip-flop” accusations worked well in the past, but that really only works against a guy who doesn’t (or seems not to) do it. That doesn’t wash in this election .

dl -
A $20 drop over a few weeks? Perhaps.
Actually, the analysis I read was market jitters, caused by several factors.
I actually think Gore’s speech shook things up a little, too. Calling for an end to fossil fuels within 10 years briefly seemed possible. A worthy goal, even if it only partially succeeded. A nice price drop right afterwards could quiet that kind of talk.
And it did.
I have no evidence for that, it was just an observation.

The McCain Bush Oil drilling idea will do nothing. This is why.
Oil companies already have more then 70 million acre of drillable oil land. The fact of the matter is that the Oil companies do not have the equipment to drill more land and do not want to.
Oil companies spend around 55% of their profits on speculation, stock buy backs and executive pay. If the GOP would support Obama’s and the Dem’s anti-speculation legislation then we could see some real solutions getting passed.
This same thing happen with Enron. The government in California allowed speculators who were reducing supply, and getting rich to create the energy policy. We all know how that turned out. So please lets not repeat history.

There’s another important angle that the media fails to talk about, which is that gas prices are also dependent on refining capabilities. Energy companies have been known to manipulate their refining capabilities to control prices. Again, this was a part of both the Enron and California electricity crisis. They came about through deregulation and relaxation of oversight. (Not unlike the housing crisis.)
What free marketers don’t seem to understand is that it’s not a free market, it never has been and it never will be as long as those with power and money have the ability to manipulate it.
That was where Hamilton’s genius showed through. He set up a system that played people’s self interest against each other. Government oversight was a vital part of that. Only politicians need to keep the people happy to stay in office, CEO’s don’t.

“Alternative Energy” isn’t the cure-all people think it is. What happens if we have most of our energy supplied by wind and solar and it’s cloudy out and the wind doesn’t blow?
Nuclear and coal is still our cheapest and reliable supply of energy.

Alternative energy isn’t supposed to be a cure all. What if it only reduced our consumption by 10%? 20% How would that affect gas prices?
Nuke coal and oil are cheap, yes, but we’ve had over 100 years making it cheap. What if we geared our technology in another direction? All resources are more costly at first and reduce in price as it becomes more popular. (iPhones?)
Oil and coal are limited to what we have right now on the planet. It will, eventually, run out.

Pepsi -
I’m sorry if a politician who can string coherent thoughts together intimidates you.
Perhaps you prefer the current president?
Articulation is not his strong point.
You must feel more comfortable with that.

Gonzo – how does this sound?
The first principle is that we can have an effective and comprehensive energy policy only if the government takes responsibility for it and if the people understand the seriousness of the challenge and are willing to make sacrifices.
The second principle is that healthy economic growth must continue. Only by saving energy can we maintain our standard of living and keep our people at work. An effective conservation program will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.
The third principle is that we must protect the environment. Our energy problems have the same cause as our environmental problems — wasteful use of resources. Conservation helps us solve both at once.
The fourth principle is that we must reduce our vulnerability to potentially devastating embargoes. We can protect ourselves from uncertain supplies by reducing our demand for oil, making the most of our abundant resources such as coal, and developing a strategic petroleum reserve.
The fifth principle is that we must be fair. Our solutions must ask equal sacrifices from every region, every class of people, every interest group. Industry will have to do its part to conserve, just as the consumers will. The energy producers deserve fair treatment, but we will not let the oil companies profiteer.
The sixth principle, and the cornerstone of our policy, is to reduce the demand through conservation. Our emphasis on conservation is a clear difference between this plan and others which merely encouraged crash production efforts. Conservation is the quickest, cheapest, most practical source of energy. Conservation is the only way we can buy a barrel of oil for a few dollars. It costs about $13 to waste it.
The seventh principle is that prices should generally reflect the true replacement costs of energy. We are only cheating ourselves if we make energy artificially cheap and use more than we can really afford.
The eighth principle is that government policies must be predictable and certain. Both consumers and producers need policies they can count on so they can plan ahead.
The ninth principle is that we must conserve the fuels that are scarcest and make the most of those that are more plentiful. We can’t continue to use oil and gas for 75 percent of our consumption when they make up seven percent of our domestic reserves. We need to shift to plentiful coal while taking care to protect the environment, and to apply stricter safety standards to nuclear energy.
The tenth principle is that we must start now to develop the new, unconventional sources of energy we will rely on in the next century.

Pepsi -
I haven’t said I’m against offshore drilling. However, I don’t think it will solve the current problem.
The governments of Mexico, Brazil and Columbia don’t act like the US in many ways – I don’t understand the relevance.
By the way, when you wrote:
“Is our coastlines that more important”
Was that a Bush joke, like “Is our children learning?”
If so, tip of the hat for a subtle reference.

Alternative energy isn’t supposed to be a cure all. What if it only reduced our consumption by 10%? 20% How would that affect gas prices?
We don’t burn gasoline/oil for baseload electricity.
And how would alternative energy reduce demand? Batteries for cars aren’t alternative energy, batteries are a storage device. Currently, coal and nuclear cost around 6 cents/kw hr. Off the New Jersey coast, they are installing wind turbines. They are selling the electricity for 18.9 cents/kw hr… over triple the cost of nuclear or coal.

The more Obama elevates the debate, the more McCain gets disoriented. Keep up the pressure Obama. The McCain meltdown is withing sight.

“Doubtfull, since I’m currently appromimately 50 yards away from an operating core as I type…”
Well, if so, I admire your bravery and honesty.
I’m aware nuclear waste is a natural phenomenon, as is cancer, arsenic and electrical bolts out of the sky.
You’ll forgive me for not choosing to buddy up to any of those.
Anyway, as I stated before, my point was that I feel that the people who have to deal with the consequences have a bit more say than the ones who merely benefit.
Whichever direction they choose.

Agreed.
Personally, I think some new technology will eventually replace current ones.
And, at some point, I suspect we will find better ways to exploit nuclear energy. (That actually IS solar energy.)
But we need to look if we’re going to find, and I’d rather spend resources developing new tech than spending resources taking the remaining sources from other people.

And, at some point, I suspect we will find better ways to exploit nuclear energy. (That actually IS solar energy.)
Actually solar is Fusion… bringing atoms together… Fission which we use takes an atom and break it apart.

One accident could do a lot of damage, though…
Yes it could, that’s why we have multiple safety systems and numerous barriers to contain they radioactivity.

There are people who have considered opinions based on facts and evidence, and there are people who need to make things up and assign absurd reasoning in order to make their points and fuel their outrage.
A good clue is when they start to tell you what someone REALLY meant, or why they did a specific thing and somehow THEY are able to see through it and know the REAL reason behind it.
If you look up flaws in reasoning, you’ll find tools to analyze and dissect dishonest debaters.
Thanks to all for the conversations.

OBAMA is dead wrong on his judgement. he compromises his dead wrong bad judgement and he is the good guy. how stupid. Get rid of the guy from the get go. He was wrong and he knows it. His policy makes no sense at all. He will again show poor judgement. McCain has the good judgement. It looks like OBAMA is jumping on the Republican bandwagon. Republicans LEAD and Obama Follows.
Get the story straight. McCain Leads and Obama follows McCains superior leadership.

First he’ll say it’s not a shift. Then he’ll say that we simply didn’t understand the nuances of his original position. And then, when not enough people buy those two explanations, he’ll admit that it WAS a shift. I am sooo tired of the “Obama three-step.”

“Looks like our boy OBAMA is out stealing
ideas from John McCain”
Obama isn’t stealing ideas. He is compromising because the GOP won’t allow any real solutions to get passed. All the GOP wants to do is get their Oil buddies rich.
McCain is the one stealing Obama’s positions. Examples include Iraq timetable, Afghanistan and Diplomacy.

Everything he says…….he ultimately changes his mind about. It makes no difference what it is….
He doesn’t have enough experience to know how to answer things appropriately. Even in Congressional sessions, he chose to not vote. He flip flops way too much for someone who professes to have some knowledge. He is scary……very scary.

“It is a brilliant move. The one issue that the Repubs have that they could campaign on is off the table now.
Now Obama can continue to campaign to increase jobs, improve healthcare, social security stability, etc.”
Interesting. I thought this was the rationale for his “compromise” on FISA. Health care, social security, etc, are all issues that “Repubs can campaign on”, will love to see your response when Obama makes “brilliant moves” on those issues.

i see we have some people here who like what bush and his buddy have been doing to improve this society over the past 8 years,the only bush i trust is my own

What in the heck does this guy stand for?

Barack’s shift on Offshore drilling – how he can still seize this issue
Now that Barack Obama position on offshore drilling is more flexible there are many that disagree with this shift. Rachael Maddow an MSNBC political analyst and a strong defender of Barack Obama against conservative analyst on a daily basis called this shift idiotic. I think she is wrong and I think in the immediate short term it was wise to do considering the majority of the american public is in agreement with the idea of offshore drilling. Although the majority of the american public are not fully aware (in my opinion) that offshore drilling is environmentally unsafe and will take years before anything positive happen at the gas pump, their desperation for relief has led the majority to believe that this is the solution.
After the shift by Barack Obama what next? I believe it is now time for Barack Obama to seize this issue with a new approach and a new plan in addition to what he has already proposed. A plan that is simple and easy, and offers immediate and realistic relief at the gas pump right away. It is also a plan that will put the Mccain camp on the defensive and force them to respond to an issue that Obama has put forward. If Obama fails to do this then Mccain will have won on this issue of who best can lower prices at the gas pump.
So what is this plan? Barack Obama need to speak daily this week proposing and pushing the need to release millions of barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve. This is the plan and a new approach to solving the problems that ordinary americans are faced with because of the high price of oil. This needs to become Barack’s issue! An issue that will immediately help families and an issue Mccain, the republicans, the oil industry, and the white house will certainly disagree with. This will put them all on the defensive and change the discussion from offshore drilling which is a risky long term approach, to releasing oil right away which provides practical short term relief.
If George Bush could deplete the budget surplus he received from the Bill Clinton Presidency to finance an illegal and unjust war why can’t we use some of the oil in the strategic petroleum reserve to help bring relief to american families and citizens? I have posted below a link to a well thought out position on the need to release oil.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/07/eight_reasons_spr.html

Paul,
He stands for trying to help you have a better America to live in.

LMAO … oh my gosh… lol …. it is amazing how Obama can do no wrong!! It is John McCain who is actually very conscious of the environment, who is for drilling together with other energy plans to make america energy dependent. And the Obama followers make it seem as this is a “novel” idea, example:
“The art of compromise” — You should perhaps look at both records in the Senate… john McCain is the only one of the two w/bipartisan record.
“If they no longer have that, then what are they left with? Complaining about higher taxes for oil companies? That’s a real winner.” — I will tell you what the Republicans have … a REAL LEADER w/REAL Solution. As opposed to the easily influenced and follower in Obama. McCain has taken the lead on all issues, which Obama has to later fall into line.
“And the political damage from shifting positions would be minimal since McCain shifted also.”… if you are talking about off-shore drilling… that was years ago when the economic of our country was different than now. OBAMA… he was against off-shore drilling (dead against it) on 07/30/08, two days later he’s for it.
“Man, this guy is smart. He may be a “rock star”, but he is a pretty good politician.” — GREAT POINT from an OBAMA supporter… a “politician”… though I would say an unscrupulous politician more than a good politician.
“It is interesting that many on the left agree with Obama on this.” — HELLO? Have you been up w/the news? It’s your moderate Democrats that have been siding w/the Repubs on this for a while. Only the EXTREME Left (which is Pelosi and Obama) who were against it. Pelosi (your party leader) turned off the lights on the Repubs when discussing this issue only yesterday.
“Obama is right its about time the dems and repubs compromise to come to an agreement on our energry crisis and obama says he is willing to compromise thats great he is willing to work across the aisle as potus to do whats right for us GREAT PRESIDENT HE WILL BE !!!!” — THIS is HYSTERICAL!! The only candidate who have NEVER crossed party line (compared to McCain Centrist and works well across party line)… and you’re talking “compromise” from Obama as a new art. Action speaks louder than words…
One of his campaign guys stated: “Our number one goal is to get elected. Do what we must now, and fix it later when Obama is president”… No LIE,…. I promise.

i DON’T KNOW WHY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CAN’T BE LIKE THE BRAZILIANS THEY DO NOT USE ANY OIL FOREIGN OR OTHER WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALTERNATIVE ENERGY. AS FOR FLIP FLOPPING WE ALL DO IT LAST YEAR SOMETHING SOUNDED GOOD THIS YEAR NOT SO GOOD. AND HAS ANYONE NOTICE HOW MUCH THE IDIOT IS DOING NOW FOR HIS CONSTITUENTS BY SIGNINMG BILLS INSTEAD OF VETOING THEM

OHbombUS is just another slimy politico willing to say anything or do anything to get electedRead the New Yorker article about please as it is VERY revealing). He is definately Change WE CAN’t Belive in! We should have stuck with Hillary thuth be known. This phony we have with no expirience is sure to hand victory to the repubs. I just wait for the next scandal to hit the front page about him. I am sure the enemy has plenty of scandal they are just waiting to unleash until after the convention in Denver–don’t be naive!!

Let us ditch this presumptuous presumptive bozo before it is too late and we lose our political advantage before we are hit with yet another Wrightesque scandal. We are sure to be washed with yet another scandal du jour before November. How dare he have an arrogant victory lap in Europe that is unprecidented in US Presidential politics! This slime will ruin the Democratic party for decades to come. Let us go with Hillary before ALL is lost–this is an emergency. OhBombUS has the integrity of a slug and the worst of our fears has come true I am sad to say.

There’s nothing wrong with drilling off-shore, but beleive me, it’s not necessary to do so. There’s plenty of oil land already under lease by big oil. Oil prices will never go down unless Congress gives the CFTC authorization to regulate/limit oil speculation. Supply and demand are nice words to use to try and justify oil price increases , but the FACT is, this isn’t a supply and demand problem. This is a problem called GREED.

Get the facts, make your choice, VOTE

When Obama says the words “I’ve always said …”, he’s about to tell another big lie. Too bad his lemmings don’t have the ability to see through his truth-less rhetoric.

What’s this guy stand for today? Is this a flip day or a flop day. Oh wait, it’s a “I’m going to try to have it both ways” day.
We need a leader, not a follower which this guy keeps proving over and over again that he is. He’ll do anything for votes.

Is Obama copying Kerry when he says “I was for it before I was against it even though I’m now for it”? Certainly seems that way. How can anybody seriously believe a word he says? When Obama flip-flops, he does so at a very major level and always seems to convince his lemmings that he hasn’t changed at all. The guy can talk but falls very short on substance!

I would rather have a brave warrior leading me, than a slick law professor who is as much white as he is black but for political clout with his half-brothers, calls himself black instead of white. He’s slipping on the very oil he wants to import from our sworn enemies.

You guys have to look at McCain and Obama as humans. This talk flip-flopping is ridiculous. I’d rather have a flexible president.
Bush wasn’t flexible…look what he did to America…
Hillary wasn’t flexible…look what she did to the Democratic Party with the primaries after it was CLEAR she wouldn’t win…
If Obama “compromises” for a bit of offshore drilling, he’s flip-flopping. But if he still opposes, you’d call him an out of touch elitist. You won’t know who’s ready to lead until the individual becomes president.

Let’s see now, which way is the wind blowing so we’ll know what Barack Obama is going to tell us today, then we can check it again tomorrow!
Now think about that folk’s an you will realize that I’m a pretty good weather man, huh!

He’s flip-flopped again. Sorry, that sounds so racist. Lol! Once again, he’s went from a solid stance to following someone else’s advice. Obama’s a puppet!
Gotta go check my tire pressure.

I think Obama is brilliant he is willing to compromise to our nation’s crises. We don’t need tyrant leader to run this country just as the Republican did in the Iraq crises. The average American do not understand the possible negative outcome with the drilling. I would imagine the expenses involve not to mention the environment. We all are going to pay for all of these if we don’t critically analyze before drilling anywhere. If cutting down in areas that reduced our dependency what is so wrong about that? At least we are not creating a possible problem in the future or unnecessary expenses just like we have now in Iraq. We all know that it is one of a major contributor with our economic chaos.

Obama’s “shift” on off-shore drilling
can be easily explained!
He’s following John McCain’s lead!
Just as he followed John McCain’s advice
that he visit Iraq and Afganistan so he could see the situation on the ground
there!
John McCain is a Leader and is Ready to
be President!
Obama is too naive and inexperienced to
be President!
Just Say No to Obama! No You Can’t!

For those who say Obama has taken this issue off the table, that is his real problem. He runs away from his associations, he runs away from his stands on the issues, and he is always backtracking. Speak up with some vision to begin with. When you drop your stands on off-shore drilling, you are just trying to get elected. Does he have any principles that cannot be broken? Don’t take him at his word, for he cannot be trusted.
McCain ’08

I know that most likely people won’t see this because it’s so far down the list, but i have to say that i’m amazed at the responses. i’m thrilled at the people who show that they understand that compromise (as REPUBLICAN Schwartzenegger found in CA) works… listening to the people works… those that are saying this is a ploy “to get a vote” are right!! The guy wants to win! He wants to make this country better! in order to do that he knows that compromise may be the answer. he’s not like what we have now… the “stay the course” bull-crap.
i sure as hell don’t want drilling bcs we have made so many detrimental mistakes (see Mississippi River for more details) with oil and water. if we have other oil options or other resources (such as the sun, water, and wind, and electricity) why the hell would we want to stay dependent on a finite resource like oil that continues to make us beholden to other nations????
for those of you that don’t know already, we STILL have some of the cheapest gas prices in the world. Even at $4/gallon. do i like paying it??? No, of course not. i have to drive 40 minutes to work and back every day, and they haven’t given me a pay raise to make up the difference… but what i do want is to get away from oil. and to do that… it’s obvious that change in this country comes when people’s pocket books are affected. so MY preference despite the fact that my life will become more difficult for the time being is to continue having even HIGHER gas prices! That’s right. I said it. I’m glad the gas prices are high! But Obama has said that he doesn’t want drilling… he doesn’t deny that even now. he’s willing to COMPROMISE!! He makes rational, logical sense to those that might use intellect! Those that say he stands for nothing or can’t figure out what he stands for either can’t read, can’t hear, are doing this as a ploy to “stay the course” to help their OWN pocket books, or are WILLFULLY ignorant.
Not to mention how stupid these people must think we are that we’ll believe you’re really a “Dem with sense” or a “thinking Dem” or a “democrat” at all!! Your tricks are so transparent!! This guy Obama makes it soooooooooo clear, yet you guys continue to think we’re morons and will fall for any of this. It’s painfully obvious that you have it backwards.
If anyone has made it to the end of this diatribe, please start using your intellect not your emotions. Please see if you can step outside your selfish desires and work for the betterment of OUR home.

Obama, talking out of both sides of his mouth again? What’s new.

MKoch: The reason those who live along the coast do not want our gas companies to do off-shore drilling, is because it will only affect their quality of life — and why would they be concerned about the cost of a gallon of gasoline, anyway? If they can afford to live on the coast to begin with, they can AFFORD the price of gas to go up to $12.00 per gallon!
Secondly, does anyone really know why Russia attacked the once Soviet-run country of Georgia? Well, let me educate those who do not have a clue.
It is because we have a pipeline that runs through Georgia and through that pipeline, gas is provided to many of our European allies. Does it not strike a cord with anyone that while the liberals are trying to weaken our ability to drill for oil on our own land (as most countries are already doing), that Russia is strengthening their ability to destroy our pipelines?
They have made it clearer than clear that they are on the side of Iran. I wouldn’t be surprised if China has a part in this, either, being that Russia aand China are also allies.
By the way, while the Olympics are on, has anyone spoken against the plethora of smog that hangs over the city of Bejing, since China is also supposed to participate with the terms of the Keyoto Protocol Agreement, also? Hmmm…makes one wonder, when China puts out more air pollution than our country ever did, why they don’t seem to care. Could it possibly be that “Global Warming” is indeed a hoax, drummed up to put more moola in the hands of the United (and Communist-minded) Nations? I indeed believe so!

Oh — and by the way, our “good friend”, Barack Obama indeed wants to be “President of the World”, rather than “President of the U.S.”. I wonder how many people have caught onto the real meaning of that statement. Perhaps that’s where he also got the idea that there are 57 states, since there are 57 Muslim states and there are only 50 American states? If we are as patriotic of a country that I would like to think we are, this idiot doesn’t have a chance!