Bush to join McCain call on offshore drilling

Bush to join McCain call on offshore drilling

www.cnn.com

Sen. John McCain on Tuesday proposed lifting the ban on offshore drilling as part of his plan to reduce dependence on foreign oil and help combat rising gas prices.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Oh boy... was this the plan all along? Drive the prices up to cripple the economy to the point where we will accept offshore drilling? Or are they just capitalizing off of the situation to make a buck for their oil friends?

I would applaud the effort if there was a shortage of oil right now, but there isn't. This won't save the consumer any money. This will only benefit big oil, yet people will embrace it and thank them for doing it.



www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I do not know which alternative fuel is less polluting: nuclear or oil. I suppose if we want to remove our dependency on foreign oil, offshore drilling may be the only viable solution now until some renewable source of [free?] energy is utilized to help improve the economy of the United States.

reply to post by Karlhungis


How is one more offshore drilling place going to irreversibly damage the planet's ecosystem? Isn't it more realistic to drill "somewhere" for oil to ease prices as we transition to new technologies? If drilling doesn't ease prices then consumers know they are getting screwed! That's how you get people to take action... show them hard facts.

reply to post by pikypiky


At this point, I really don't see the difference if we are buying foreign oil or domestic oil. It will still cost the consumer the same amount of money. Companies like Exxon and Chevron will just get a larger cut, as if their cut isn't big enough already. I don't see how it will bolster our economy in any way. It seems to me that it would only benefit a few very rich companies, with the added benefit of destroying our local environment.

We need to get off of oil. This move would certainly not speed up alternative energy research.

reply to post by Scramjet76


People are already being shown the facts that there is no shortage and they are ignoring them. They still want to believe that more oil would lower the prices. As long as the speculators continue to run wild, oil will continue to be outrageously expensive.

reply to post by Karlhungis


Yeah I guess even the Saudis have suggested oil speculators might be partly to blame. The airline industry is really getting hit hard by oil prices. I didn't even get pretzels on my flight home from Phoenix the other day!

You think congress can make an impact?

In light of oil's phenomenal climb from under $50 a barrel to nearly $140 in less than 18 months - and the public belief that Wall Street traders were behind the rise - Congress is awash in bills that attempt to limit the role of speculators. Several have bipartisan support and could soon become law.

cnn

The first thing I thought was: lower gas prices = surefire victory in November. But if what you're saying is true and it just means more money to the oilmen, then I'm shocked and awed that these people still want to make oil money. What do they think they're going to do with it? Are their kids going to carry on the family business and name? Riiiight.

reply to post by Scramjet76


Congress? When has congress ever let us down before? I am sure they will fix the situation very soon. [/sarcasm]

I wonder how many members of congress were invested in oil during its climb the last 18 months? I bet there are more than a few who have profited off of this.

McCain is starting to drop his "Independent" illusion and starting to play ball with his party...and Bush of course. He really has little choice.

Well...with this one though, he's even doing a John Kerry.

McCain risks ‘flip-flop’ jibes by voters

By Edward Luce and Andrew Ward in Washington
Published: June 17 2008

Nobody is yet calling John McCain a “flip-flopper”. But the Republican nominee’s increasingly finely balanced efforts to shore up his support among the shrinking Republican base while reaching out to independents is starting to fire up the critics.

(snip)

Mr McCain’s shift on offshore drilling – which contrasts with his strong support for upholding the moratorium in his 2000 bid for the Republican nomination – could further chip away at his reputation for being a “straight talker”. FT.com

This is what I like in political discourse.
Talking about positions and issues not rumor and weird paranoid speculation.

We need to focus on that now more than ever. The next President has much to fix here in the States. Instead of issues, most people are doing the dirty game of mudslinging, not unlike what the Republicans did to McCain with the "interracial love-child" rumors that they knew were false. Just prejudice enough minds to cast doubt through fear or anger. Americans need to look hard at both candidates and set partisan bickering aside.

People on these boards with Baracknophobia should take note.
No need to go into the deep-end to prove a point.

May not be as exciting, but sometimes the truth is boring.

- Lee

reply to post by lee anoma


I'll say it again, Drill all you want, where do you want to refine it?
We're importing 15% refined gas right now..........02c