Rita,
Now, I’m going to tell you why this is actually shrewd, smart politics.
You’re wrong about Americans not favoring offshore drilling – they do, to the tune of 73%. Barack Obama has evidently been seeing the huge public support and the not inconsiderable jump in oil company contributions to McCain’s campaign over the issue of offshore drilling, so when framing the question in terms of how to tap into that market without looking like a chump, here’s his strategy:
Coupling with the coming public backlash over Congress’ inability to visit energy legislation before summer recess with the overwhelming public support for offshore drilling, Senator Obama said he would be willing to support *limited* additional offshore oil drilling if that's what it takes to enact a comprehensive policy to foster more fuel-efficient cars and develop alternative energy sources.
So, what are the limits?
Basically, what Senator Obama is proposing is a “win-win” scenario for him and Democrats in Congress. The proposal would lift drilling bans in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, but retain an environmental “buffer zone” extending 50 miles off Florida's coastline and in the South Atlantic off Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia, but only if the states agree to the oil and gas development along their coastlines. These states would share in revenues from oil and gas development, but then places the onus for drilling legislation to them instead of Congress. It retains the ban in place along the Pacific coast, but also includes initiatives that Obama has been endorsing, like a $1000 emergency rebate funded by windfall profits on oil companies, repealing tax breaks for oil companies, and a commitment of resources for renewable fuels.
This is legislation that Obama will sponsor as a Senator at the beginning of the fall session, giving him more credibility on several fronts:
Given the obvious lead Senator Obama has in the likely Presidential win in November, it would be logical that the oil companies will hedge their bets on McCain and support Obama in the form of sizeable campaign contributions.
Now, before everyone accuses me of making lemonade, I have to say that I’m not thrilled about this.
The last thing that Senator Obama needs is to be labeled a “flip-flopper”. However, he has the ability to turn these negatives into positives and frame them in terms of “We the People” and not “I the Candidate”. I earlier sent a message demonstrating the capacity for our existing domestic drilling capabilities, and it is my sincere hope that Senator Obama is cognizant of such a scenario and takes that into account when proposing energy legislation.
It’s not all good. But it’s not all bad, either.
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