California Official's "Straight Talk" On Drilling

From CBS News' Clifden Kennedy:

(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Senator McCain had some interesting company at his environmental briefing today.

At most campaign events, people appearing onstage with the candidate support whichever plan he is promoting.

But that wasn't the case today.

At one side of Sen. McCain sat the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger; on the other, Michael Freeney, who is the Executive Director of the land trust for Santa Barbara County.

Schwarzenegger opposes McCain's plan to lift the moratorium on offshore drilling but chose not to vocalize his views on the issue at this particular event.

But Freeney wasn't quite as restrained as Schwarzenegger.

"It makes me nervous to think about those who are proposing to drain America's offshore oil and gas reserves as quickly as possible in the hopes of driving down the price of gasoline," Freeney said.

Zing.

"I think when you look at the good sources of information, were we to open up the California coast or the Alaska natural wildlife refuge to drilling, it would be 12, 15 maybe 20 years before those resources came online and got to full production. That's not going to impact the price of gasoline any time soon."

Zing. Zing.

Freeney concluded his opening remarks with this: " …All of us have to change, and it is going to be more expensive, and we're never going to see $2.50 a gallon gasoline, and we shouldn't."

Zoinks.