The initial reaction from conservatives upon hearing that President Barack Obama would be reversing an oil drilling ban that had stood for more than two decades was one of cautious optimism.
Turns out, that caution was well-founded.
The reality is that the Obama administration is giving up very little of actual substance in hopes of gaining quite a bit in political capital. His plan is simple. When it comes time for the president to jam his large package of highly liberal environmental protections, clean energy restrictions and climate change legislation deep into the bowels of Congress, he is banking on being able to say he attempted to compromise with Republicans by extending to them the olive branch of an oil drilling ban reversal.
Obama's complete lack of respect for the intelligence of his colleagues on Capitol Hill is really insulting sometimes.
And, to think, I was actually proud of him for making a surprise visit to Afghanistan over the weekend to rally troops and take a hard line with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whose becoming quite famous for his corrupt government. Turns out the visit may very well have been to lay the ground-work for today's announcement.
The president unveiled his new "energy" plan this morning at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland in front of an F-18 fighter jet. While he said he would be reversing the decades-old ban on oil drilling exploration in the Atlantic Ocean, he also said he would be rescinding previously-approved drilling licenses in Alaska's Bristol Bay, opting instead to commission a environmental study to determine whether drilling is really as necessary or as low-impact as the license-holders claim.
The reality is that beyond a new platform designated for 50 miles off the coast of Virginia, no new drilling will begin for years. Despite the bitterness from New York Times' environment reporter John M. Broder and his claim that "the sheer breadth of the offshore drilling decision will take some of his supporters aback," the plan is virtually all upside for the Democratic president and even most environmentalists. Broder himself says that while "large tracts in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska" would eventually become available for drilling exploration, he admits that they will only do so after "extensive studies." This means that by the time oil companies are ready to actually drill, President Obama will be long gone.
If it seemed weird to see the president announcing his energy plan in front of a Navy fighter jet at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, it began to make sense when he started talking about how the new oil "drilling" plan is just one component of his overall energy strategy.
And there's the catch.
Obama is hoping to resurrect a climate change bill that's been on life support in Congress for nearly a year. The press conference in front of the plane was to emphasize how the U.S. Armed plans to maintain its air superiority using a jet fuel mixture that is at least 50-percent biomass.
The good news in all this is that it doesn't appear Obama is set to take up the issue of immigration reform, the way many feared he would once health care reform passed. Of course, the bad news is that it doesn't appear as though he's too eager to get America's unemployed back working again anytime soon, either.
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Comments
“The reality is that beyond a new platform designated for 50 miles off the coast of Virginia, no new drilling will begin for years.”
Yeah. There are no available oil drilling rigs. There is no infrastructure. The first drop of oil will not be available at the pump for at least 5 years.
However, even if every drop of proven American reserves were available right this minute at the refinery, it would only slake America’s thirst for oil for about six years.
There never was an American solution for our petroleum crisis.
Obama co-opted a minor Republican talking point. “Drill, baby, drill.” He alienated environmentalists. He might be trying to reach independents. “See, I tried to reach out to Republicans.” If so, I sincerely doubt that anyone will remember in 2012.
I agree completely.
It must be horribly aggravating to see someone so clever using conservative talking-points and rally cries against you.
So sorry.
A BIG STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
March 31 was a groundbreaking day of such historic significance that had its developments come one day later, it might well have been mistaken as an April Fool’s Day joke.
President Obama has proposed opening large swaths of the country to offshore drilling, reversing the staunch anti-drilling stance he took while he was campaigning. It a decisive move that also marked a dramatic departure from the delays that have characterized Obama’s Interior Department in recent months.
Obama’s proposal is not perfect and today, as so many not-in-my-backyard types are attacking the new policy, it will be tempting for those of us who support a strong domestic oil sector to criticize the president for not going further in supporting drilling in many of the country’s oil rich regions, like Alaska, or to question the timing or the political motives behind his decision.
While there will be time to examine the proposal in more detail, our first order of business must be to applaud Obama’s courageous move, and offer to help him keep true to his words. In announcing a plan to open much of the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast to drilling, he has not only opened up some major new sources of oil within our borders, he has also shown a willingness to break with his core allies for the greater good of the country.
At CEA, we have consistently chronicled the battle to produce more homegrown energy, but it has too often felt like a losing battle. We have offered all the arguments, from how domestically produced oil creates jobs and strengthens national security, to how a strong oil sector can coexist with strong environmental protections. We have offered all those arguments, but at times it felt like we weren’t getting through.
Obama’s support of offshore drilling has shown us that there need not be two sides in this issue; that anyone who is for a strong economy and strong national security should include development of more oil and natural gas here at home, and buying less of it from distant markets – while, of course, we also develop all forms of alternative energy.
“Given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs and keep our businesses competitive, we are going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable homegrown energy,” Obama explained.
Surprising? Yes. Courageous? Definitely. Practical politics? That too.
But, if the appropriate actions follow the President’s words, it’s no joke.
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