Big Dogs Weblog

Obama’s Crude Oil Plan

by Big Dog on Aug 2, 2008 at 12:53 Political

Nancy Pelosi has called the Republican plan to drill America’s oil resources a hoax. Pelosi and many of her Democratic partners have been opposed to America drilling for its own oil for quite some time and it matters not to them that the money we pay for oil goes to people who do not like us very much. Truthfully though, it did not matter to most when the price of oil was low.

Now that it is high and people are feeling the pinch, Republicans and many Blue Dog Democrats want to drill our own resources. The problem is that Nancy Pelosi will not allow the issue to come up for a vote. Pelosi claimed that the Democrats would work for Americans to find solutions. They were not going to obstruct like the other party. The Democrats obstructed when they were the minority and now that they are in control they, under the leadership of Pelosi and Reid, have done everything to ensure that items they do not like never see the light of day.

Republicans staged a coup yesterday by staying and debating the drilling issue long after the Speaker had banged the gavel of adjournment. That gavel signaled the beginning of a 5 week, taxpayer paid, vacation. Yep, Congress will be in recess for the entire month of August. This, of course, is in addition to the week long holidays they take all year and the end of work as the election approaches. Can anyone explain why we pay them so much for so little? They never work.

Anyway, Pelosi had the lights turned off, the cameras turned off and the microphones shut down but that did not keep the Republicans from continuing to debate the issue while the Democrats left ensuring at least 5 more weeks will pass before this issue is addressed again. The issue now becomes, did Barry Obama add Pelosi’s name to the never ending stream of people who are ending up under his bus?

Barack Obama, who was once very opposed to drilling our own oil so much so that he chided John McCain for changing his position of the subject, has now changed positions on the subject. Yes, in June Obama stated that McCain had changed his position because of political expediency and that drilling would produce no oil for 10 years. Yesterday, the sainted one, stated that he would be open to drilling our own oil. He stated that he would make the compromise in order to have a path to alternative energies as long as we did it safely. In other words, he is now taking the very same position that McCain took only when McCain took it, it was a political move and when Obama takes it, it is compromise.

How will Nancy Pelosi look at Obama’s words? Will she say that his plan to drill is a hoax? Will others who called McCain a flip flopper and only changing for political reasons now call Barry a flip flopper who changed for political reasons? The absolute truth is that Obama DID change for political reasons. If he really felt compromise was in order he would have jumped on board when McCain did (and if he were the leader he wants you to believe he is, he would have been the first to propose it). The only reason Obama is jumping in now is because his poll numbers are flat (and Democrats are nervous) and he is tied with McCain. He realizes that people from all political backgrounds want to drill and he is pandering to them in order to get votes.

The important thing to remember is that John McCain was first on this issue just as he was on the surge. McCain was right about the surge while Obama was saying it would not work. To this day Obama will not admit he was wrong. Now McCain was first out of the gate on drilling for our oil and Obama criticized the position and, like his position on the surge, said it would not work. He stuck with the hard left and their desire to have $10.00 a gallon gas. Obama was Barry come lately. In other words, McCain demonstrated leadership and Obama demonstrated a lack of it. He followed the leader on this one. Don Surber notes that this position changed in just one day:

The Empty Suit on drilling on Thursday, as blogged by the New York Times:

“It won’t lower prices today. It won’t lower prices during the next Administration. While this won’t save you at the pump, it sure has done a lot to help Senator McCain raise campaign dollars.”

The Empty Suit on Friday, from the NYT:

“If, in order to get that passed, we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage — I don’t want to be so rigid that we can’t get something done.”

Now who is trying to raise campaign dollars?

Here is where the fun will begin. Obama has made it clear that he disagreed with McCain on this issue in the past and had unflattering things to say about him because of it. All the liberal media and the toadies who bow down to the greatness of Obama have been claiming that drilling our own oil will not work and that McCain is out of touch and it won’t help in the short term and any number of other reasons it was a bad idea. What will they say now that the sainted one in OK with drilling? Will they now say it is a brilliant idea? This is the way they play the game. Idiots like Keith Olberman decry George Bush as a criminal for supporting a bill that gives cell phone companies immunity but when Obama votes for it, he demonstrated courage. That is how this will be viewed. Obama will be hailed as a genius who is ahead of his time. Unfortunately, he was way late to the party on this one.

Pay attention over the next few weeks and see how the tone of the debate changes in the liberal media now that the sainted one agrees with drilling. Watch and see how many people change their positions as well. What will really be interesting is seeing how Pelosi reacts to this. It was a hoax when Republicans were pushing it. How will she view it from the Messiah?

Keep in mind that no matter what happens drilling was the plan from Republicans while Democrats refused debate on the issue. Now watch and see who tries to take credit if they change position.

Obama is pandering for votes. He already said he was happy with high gas prices but just wished they had risen more slowly. The Democrats have already stated they would be fine with $10.00 a gallon gas and Obama was totally opposed to this plan until his poll numbers fell flat. However, in two months Obama will be saying he has been consistent in his position on this and has always espoused it.

We do not need these people running the country.

Sources: (Amazing how they report the comprehensive plan when it comes from The One)
My Way News
al-Reuters
Palm Beach Post

Tags: drilling, McCain, Obama, oil, politics