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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (404620)	8/5/2008 11:33:44 PM
From: Ruffian	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575147

Our view on energy policy: Obama joins McCain in offshore drilling reversal Tue Aug 5, 12:22 AM ET At a time when most of Congress has been playing cynical election-year games with the nation's energy policy, it was refreshing — if politically convenient — to hear Barack Obama drop his staunch opposition to offshore drilling, with a useful precondition.. "I'm will to consider it if it's necessary to actually pass a comprehensive plan," the Democratic presidential candidate said Monday in Michigan, buffing his credentials as the bridge-building deal maker he has claimed to be. Republican rival John McCain's campaign immediately leveled charges of flip-flopping, but that's a bit rich, given that McCain himself changed his position on offshore drilling only this June. Both candidates can obviously read polls that suggest hard-pressed Americans support offshore drilling in currently restricted areas by a margin of more than 2-to-1. But whatever the motivation, at least both now recognize that increasing domestic oil production is a useful piece of the larger energy puzzle, even if grossly inadequate by itself. That's more than can be said for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who rushed the House out the door for its five-week recess rather than allow vote on offshore drilling, grandiosely telling Politico, "I'm trying to save the planet." To be sure, offshore drilling is no panacea. Its Republican proponents disingenuously oversell it as a way to slash consumer prices immediately. It won't. It'll take years to see significant production from new offshore areas. But that's not the point. The goal is to develop more U.S. supplies that are immune to the whims of oil-exporting nations, many of them hostile to U.S. interests. By most estimates, at least 18 billion barrels of oil and 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas could be recovered from areas now off-limits — not huge amounts in a world market but helpful. Unfortunately, in his energy speech in Lansing, Obama undercut his grudging acceptance of offshore drilling by calling for a windfall profits tax on oil companies to finance $1,000 energy rebates for families. That plays well on the stump, but it would only reduce the companies' resources for expanded drilling and exploration. Likewise, Obama called for 1 million new plug-in hybrid cars to be on the road six years from now, all of them getting 150 miles per gallon. That's a worthy goal. But there are some 234 million cars and light trucks on the road. Where does Obama suppose the fuel will come from for the 233 million that wouldn't be able to plug in, not to mention the electricity to charge the other 1 million? It's just not enough. We've said before, and still believe, that neither candidate has put forth a credible, comprehensive energy strategy, but together they at least come close. Obama would do well to be as open as McCain is to nuclear power, especially if he wants to expand the population of plug-in cars. McCain should get behind a plan to require utilities to produce 25% of their electricity with renewable fuels such as wind, solar or geothermal by 2025. Both candidates should drop their opposition to drilling in the Alaska wildlife refuge. The congressional gamesmanship on energy policy suggests this election year will be a bust when it comes to real answers. Too bad. The best chance to conquer a big, persistent problem is to elect a president with a mandate to fix it. But that requires a candidate with a credible plan, which so far is missing.