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Drill, baby drill - how to counter

By Hansr - Sep 12th, 2008 at 3:10 pm EDT

One reason that McCain's "drill here, drill now!" mantra has stuck is that people don't realize what a pitiful amount of oil offshore drilling really would produce. I have seen estimates of a maximum of 200,000 bl/d (barrels per day). This sounds like a lot, but compared to the world production of about 87 million bbl/d it's basically nothing. So here is a visual that I think might help frame the issue:

U.S. offshore drilling will produce the equivalent of 3 oz of gas for every time you fill up your car. In 2020.

This is assuming a 12 gallon gas tank. (actually, it's 3.5 oz, but 3 oz is close enough, and has the added advantage that with the airline regulations regarding liquids, people know very well how much (or little) 3 oz is. Plus, noone ever runs their tank completely dry, so it's not dishonest). Some possible ways to use it in a commercial:

* A long line of cars are pulled up at the "McCain Energy Plan" gas station, where every driver is handed a 3 oz bottle of gasoline.

* A man hands his glum-looking four-year-old daughter a 3 oz bottle of gas, drawfed by a large bow tied around it, exclaiming "Happy sixteenth birthday, sweetie! It's from John McCain!"

* The camera pans across a row of containers of decreasing size, at the end settling on a tiny bottle marked "McCain Energy Plan; Gasoline, 3 oz.; Do Not Open Before 2020"

A voice over asks "How much gas will John McCain's plan really give you at the pump? A quarter tank? A gallon? A quart?" with the answer being 3 oz.

This negative part of the ad should then be juxtaposed with Obama's energy plan, showing real people working hard to produce energy throuh solar, wind, biomass, even nuclear sources. The punchline: "Barack Obama's Energy Plan: Real solutions, not just gimmicks!"

The 3 oz gas bottle could also be a useful prop when you canvas, to be handed out at campaign events etc. If they are bold enough, the candidates and their surrogates could even use it on the stump.

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