ROLLA, Mo., Aug. 1, 2008
Obama Risks Voter Ire On Offshore Drilling
Democrat Crosses Public Mood On Energy Prices
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It worked in his presidential primary contest against New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton when she proposed a "gas tax holiday" for the summer, a pitch he opposed despite its popularity with many voters. But that was in April before gasoline shot past $4 a gallon.
Virtually all polls now show dealing with energy prices high atop the agenda of voters.
At issue for Obama's Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, is opening up offshore drilling to boost production, a move McCain and others GOP lawmakers say would increase supply and help control soaring gasoline prices. Opponents, including Obama and many other Democrats, say new offshore oil would be years away from reaching consumers and even then would make little difference in prices and the ongoing U.S. need for foreign oil.
Republicans clearly have targeted energy prices, looking to boost their standing with consumers. President Bush has pushed Congress to permit the offshore drilling and warned that "the American people are rightly frustrated" because Democrats won't allow a vote on opening up offshore drilling.
For his part, McCain has his sights squarely on Obama's opposition to offshore drilling, labeling him "Dr. No when it comes to energy production." The tactic is not surprising, because polls have shown that consumers - even in environmentally sensitive states like Florida - are desperate for politicians to do something about energy and favor offshore drilling by big margins.
Obama is pressed on the issue repeatedly on the campaign trail, but he refuses to budge, preferring to take pains to spell out his reasons.
"Please be in favor of offshore production," Steve Hilton, a retired federal government worker in Lebanon, Mo., implored Obama during a tour of a diner there Wednesday.
"I'm in favor of solving problems," Obama responded. "What I don't want to do is say something because it sounds good politically."
Obama seeks to turn the issue on its head, arguing that McCain and Bush are practicing the old politics of simply promising people something that's symbolic without addressing the real problem. Discounting drilling, he proposes energy rebates, a crackdown on oil speculators who manipulate the market and a renewed focus on energy alternatives.
"Instead of offering any real plan to lower gas prices, Sen. McCain touts his support for George Bush's plan for offshore oil drilling," Obama said Thursday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "But even the Bush administration acknowledges that offshore oil drilling will have little impact on prices. It won't lower prices today. It won't lower prices during the next administration. In fact, we won't see a drop of oil from this drilling for almost 10 years."
Adding their own take on the debate are the Sierra Club and MoveOn.org, which announced Thursday that they will air ads criticizing McCain's call for expanded oil drilling and tax proposals that would benefit oil companies. The MoveOn.org ad depicts a man speaking to the camera complaining that McCain's proposal to lift a moratorium on energy exploration on coastal waters won't produce oil for years. "That's not a solution Mr. McCain, that's a gimmick," he says.
In fact, McCain opposes drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and during his 2000 presidential run opposed lifting the offshore drilling moratorium as well.
Although Obama makes the argument against offshore drilling much as he did against Clinton's gas tax holiday, he faces a tougher challenge now. The disagreement with Clinton was played out in front of Democratic primary voters, many of them closely following the race and its issues.
The argument with McCain comes before a general election electorate as frustrations over gasoline prices grow at the height of the summer driving season and as the nation prepares for winter and heating costs. Polls suggest a lot of voters are pressing for politicians to do anything, even if it's symbolic.
Voters in New Hampshire and other states hit hard by winter feel especially pinched by high fuel prices. Many homeowners enter into winter heating oil contracts during the summer.
"It's on people's minds," said Fergus Cullen, state GOP chairman in New Hampshire, where the cost of heating a typical suburban home has doubled since last winter, to about $5,000. "The issues that people care about have changed dramatically since 2006 here and, not incidentally, in a way that is beneficial to Republican candidates."
Adding to that pressure, Obama will face the full force of the GOP and the McCain campaign. To counter it, Obama cited Exxon Mobil's record profits - the company on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion, the biggest ever by a U.S. corporation - while contending that the GOP candidate's plan for offshore drilling won't help consumers and "reads like an oil-company wish list."
Obama concedes that crossing the public mood on energy prices could be risky - and he's right. Though the public has largely turned against a war in Iraq that McCain fervently backs and Bush's popularity is at record lows, polls show the election remains tight, with Obama clinging to a small lead.
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See all 58 CommentsAFTER HE RAISES YOUR TAXES YOU''LL HAVE MONEY LEFT FOR GAS. BUT HE PROMISES YOU CHANGE..HE IS AN IDIOT AND YOU ARE TOO IF YOU DON''T SEE THROUGH THIS MORONS FACADE.
AFTER HE RAISES YOUR TAXES YOU''LL HAVE NO MONEY LEFT FOR GAS.
BUT HE PROMISES YOU CHANGE..HE IS AN IDIOT AND YOU ARE TOO IF YOU DON''T SEE THROUGH THIS MORONS FACADE.
For him to say that there is no immediate impact is incorrect....even the announcement of greater supply caused the speculative market to lower prices, which lowered all gasoline prices.
keep it up GOP...this issue is a winner.
Reality check:
We cannot and will not produce enough oil domestically to impact world supply enough to lower the price of oil.
We could lower the price overnight by closing the Enron Loophole which McCain''s top economic advisor is responsible for creating.
Oh *****! What a total LIE! He''s the Mr. Feel Good King!
A tax plan that sound like utopia but has no basis in reality!
An insurance plan that sounds all warm and fuzzy, and doesn''t do *****!
Promises Israel they will have Jerusalem, renigs!
Promises the IMMEDIATE removal of troops from the war, offers absolutely no solution for the war itself. Just cut ''n run, that''ll solve everything!
Promises he''ll protect our Constitutional rights! WOW! Then votes against them in FISA!
Promises he''ll deal with the big oil company profiteering, then votes for *** Cheney''s energy bill! Offers NO solution to gas prices!
Promises redistribution of wealth! WOW! I''m gonna get RICH! Oh wait...that''s stealing from people that WORK and giving it to those that DON''T!
AND THE DUMBING DOWN OF AMERICANS JUST KEEPS ON TICKING...AND TICKING...AND TICKING...AND TICKING...
Where do you guys get this sh*t? EVERY credible scientific and trade (meaning big oil) group and our own energy department has estimated that even if we start drilling TODAY, not a single drop of oil will hit the market until 2017 and then it will be priced as the market dictates, based on demand. How can any thinking person contend that 2017 is a short-term fix?
It is outrageous for you to make such contentions that there is a short term fix to be found in drilling, especially given that your own analysis has found that our nation''s capacity to REFINE oil is the biggest obstacle facing the supply side of oil.
Everyone should be outraged that so-called news organizations like CBS are insulting your intelligence by making such wildly inaccurate statements and injecting them into the political debate. The energy policies of this country will be in the hands of the next president and the American people should be armed with the truth when they decide who the next president should be.
The notion that quick fixes can be had and that if you are not proposing a quick fix or a gimmick that you will be hurt politically is ridiculous. Here''s hoping that the American people are smarter than that but it appears as though CBS is betting that you are not. They are doing you a great disservice when they refuse to report the truth and continue to push propaganda.
I have found it amusing that even though some bloggers have become nothing more than judgemental rambling empty headed people, one after the other, day after day, it reflects the way society seems to want to support "change" but refuses to do so for themselves.
Are we nothing more than children pretending to be grown ups?
Duty, Honor, Country- McCain
ME, ME, ME- Obama.
Hahahahaha!! Best laugh of the day...Mr. Vogue doesn''t want to appear political!!! Bwhahahahaa!
But seriously...Americans are resiliant people. Come on...Obama thinks simply inflating tires and tuning up cars will save the same amount in energy costs as we will get from drilling our own...that''s the way it is. All Americans need to do is invest their wealth over seas...oil companies can just move out of the US and keep all their profits (that''s what happens in a free enterprise society) and not be in the direct path of Obama''s tax agenda. Obama wants to be king of the USA? Fine...but Americans with money are going to be in short supply...welcome King Obama. Rule that! Now let''s see him pull blood out of a turnip to get his big, heroic govenment funded programs off the ground. This is exactly where we are headed...enjoy, people.
Said the toad who boiled to death in the gradually heating water because it became so quickly adjusted to the heat that it didn''t sense danger...let''s just sit this out and WAIT FOR CHANGE...Obama has promised change, dam.mit..so we''ll just sit and wait for it...he''s the miracle man...the man who doesn''t look like any other president on our money (slick way to inject race without having to own up to it...typical). When we have all dried up and withered away or are begging for help from Europe or the Middle East because change didn''t come in the form that actually made us self-sufficient...history will have to reflect the lousiest decision ever made was going with Wind-Bag Barack.
Hitting the publish button multiple times does little to impact your idea. Ease up on the crack.
Advantge, Mobil-Exxon etc, increase their already bloated profits!
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Posted by loki1232
Wow a civil response to a common first-time error...please stay!!!!
ercrombie/nb08_energybill_summary.shtml
Posted by rktsci3127
I love your description of the do nothing politicians as "air heads." Thank you for your post.
People who think that drilling will not help, and that building nuclear energy reactors will not help, and who have stories about why all the energy development options have more problems than they are worth make me wonder what it is in the way of energy development that is all right with them (the left). I see a need for aggressively pursuing every option that we, as American''s can think up including drilling for oil, development of hybrids, nuclear energy, development of fossil fuel deposits in the West, solar energy, wind energy hydro energy. We could have electrical plants capturing the energy of ocean waves. So what if it takes us years (as it will) to put the production of all these options into play. What will we do in ten years if we don''t do this now?
Posted by bfjones666
I read your whole diatribe on what we should not do. I didn''t notice that you offered any suggestions on what we should do. Do you have any?
All of the experts agree that we "might" see a small benefit but it''s doubtful because the oil would be sold "overseas" and not help US!! Also the amount would be very small and wouldn''t even be productive for 10 or 12 years or longer! Mr. no brain right wing ***, try to "learn" to "read" the facts for yourself, you are the kind of moron that john mcsame appeals to and that voted in dubya who has completely ruined our country!
Posted by likeitis5050 at 09:42 AM : Aug 01, 2008
You are so full of nonsense, you make other scare tactics seem mundane. The status-quo presented by your position is a loser mentality, one not worthy of the ingenuity of Americans. Don''t just invest your money in other countries, move there--so we can make the changes necessary for a brighter future. Yours are so dumb, they put the dim in dimwit.
Posted by jschmidt27 at 02:48 PM : Aug 01, 2008
PROVE IT!!! Show me where this is true. More accurate 74% of Republicans want offshore drilling, and the other 26% are enlightened Conservatives who know about fiscal responsibility, truth in political activities, accountability, integrity of word and deed, and a cleaner world so their grandchildren can grow up healthy.
McCain doesn''t embrace these Conservative ideals, he is inclinded to follow in Bush''s shadow.
----
This is the sum total of the democratic energy policy.
And now, Bush''s bureaucrats are telling you that drilling won''t help...
And you''re preaching it''s like the gospel of Job because it suits your little greenie weenie elect Obscamma whack doodle scam on the American people!
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/67_support_offshore_drilling_64_expect_it_will_lower_prices
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey%u2014conducted before McCain announced his intentions on the issue--finds that 67% of voters believe that drilling should be allowed off the coasts of California, Florida and other states. Only 18% disagree and 15% are undecided. Conservative and moderate voters strongly support this approach, while liberals are more evenly divided (46% of liberals favor drilling, 37% oppose).
http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/30/news/economy/poll_drilling/index.htm?postversion=2008073012
CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Wednesday.
The poll, which surveyed more than 500 adults by phone in July, found that 69% of respondents support the idea of offshore drilling, while 30% opposed it. In June, 73% were in favor of offshore drilling.
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/jun/26/poll-74-percent-support-offshore-oil-drilling-us/
Three in four likely voters %u2013 74 percent %u2013 support offshore drilling for oil in U.S. coastal waters and more than half (59 percent) also favor drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows.
CAN CONGRESS IGNORE THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE!
"The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, conducted June 26, shows that 59% of voters nationwide now support offshore drilling. That%u2019s down three percentage points from a week ago when 62% favored the proposal advocated by Republican nominee John McCain."
"Before being asked if they support offshore drilling, the survey participants were told that McCain favors this approach and says it will help bring down prices and that Obama opposes drilling and says it will not reduce gas prices. The survey wording was identical in the June 18 and June 26 surveys."
So back to my point, not 75% of the American Population want offshore drilling.
"In both surveys, 87% of Republicans favor offshore drilling; and "In the first survey, 41% of Democrats favored offshore drilling while 43% were opposed."
Posted by mr2258 at 05:56 PM : Aug 01, 2008
No
and the other 2 polls- or do you just throw at all polls that seem to your liking?
http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/30/
news/economy/poll_drilling/index.htm?postversion=2008073012
CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Wednesday.
The poll, which surveyed more than 500 adults by phone in July, found that 69% of respondents support the idea of offshore drilling, while 30% opposed it. In June, 73% were in favor of offshore drilling.
http://www.naplesnews.com/n
ews/2008/jun/26/poll-74-percent-support-
offshore-oil-drilling-us/
Three in four likely voters 74 percent support offshore drilling for oil in U.S. coastal waters and more than half (59 percent) also favor drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows.
We have supply problem since 06,Q4. When demand and supply are so close, any interruption in the supply makes a huge difference in price.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/06/news/economy/birger_shale.fortune/index.htm?postversion=20080606 17 -The link above tells about the blocking of shale oil rules.
Oil''s profit margin is about 8.5%. healthcare facilities? 48%. Drug manufacturers, 17%. Insurance brokers, 16. Beverages, wineries, distilleries, 15%. Long distance carriers, 15.8%. I mean, railroads, railroads, 13.9%. Steel and iron, 13.8. Cigarettes, 13.7. Integrated circuits, semiconductors, 13.6. Oil is 8.5. Hedge fund makes 81.7. S Democrats single out oil companies because it is an election year. The Democrats have done everything to stop any supply increase such as forbidding drilling in ANWR since 89 and off the coast since 81, and in June preventing rules from being developed to process the 1.7 trillion barrels of oil locked in oil shale in 3 western states.
Energy department report on Shale Oil- covers a lot of the issues
http://fossil.energy.gov/programs/reserves/publications/Pubs-NPR/40010-373.pdf
In Colorado, Shell says it has a process that can make shale oil profitable at $25/bbl.The process involves no open-pit or subsurface mining.Creates no leftover pile of tailing avoids potential groundwater contamination, minimizes unwanted byproducts and water use
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