Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Obama's 3-Card Monte on Oil Supply

Yesterday, Mr. Obama gave another speech on energy. In that speech, he once again reiterated his stand that drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) and off the shores of California and Florida won't help lower oil prices. But, he said he was for limited drilling if "politically" it would get us on track for "the "alternative energy initiatives that he has proposed.

OK. I "guess" that sounds reasonable if you "really believe" that "increasing supplies" (by drilling for our own oil) won't actually reduce the price of gasoline at the pump.

But, then, Mr. Obama proceeded to expose his "own lie" about the effect of "increased supply" on high oil and gasoline prices. He did this by proposing a release of 70 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve (SPR) to increase oil supplies (See Full Story). He went on to say that this would reduce the high oil prices and, subsequently, reduce gasoline prices.

So, let me get this right.

America "burns" about 20 million barrels of oil per day. So, in the world of economics according to Obama, releasing 3-1/2 days of equivalent oil usage from the SPR (a total of 70 "million" barrels) will dramatically lower prices. However, increasing "new" oil supplies by an estimated 16 "billion" barrels from the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve and by a minimum of 18 "billion" barrels for offshore drilling won't have any impact on price. So, in other words, Mr. Obama thinks that replacing 3-1/2 "days" of oil usage in America would have more of an impact on gasoline prices "than" any new supplies of oil that could literally keep this country going for 4-1/2 "years" on their own. This is from a guy who actually has 300 people available on his economic team.

Besides the fact that Mr. Obama has "flipped" on his stands on drilling and the release of oil from the SPR (I guess after looking at the polls), he is flatout lying to the American people. His proposal of 70 million barrels, at best, might reduce prices at the pump by 5 cents; and, only for a very short time. Further, the longer it takes to release those 70 million barrels into the marketplace, the less the savings will be at the pump. Drilling in ANWR and off the shores of California and Florida and in the oil shales of Colorado will literally double or triple our domestic oil supplies and buy us the time that we need to convert to alternative energy sources. By drilling in those places that have been blocked by the Democrats, it is possible to increase our domestic oil supplies to above 70 percent of our oil usage instead of less than 35 percent of today. It will also reduce by half, the $100 billion dollars a year (and growing) that is flowing out of this country and into places like Saudi Arabia in order to satisfy our insatiable oil needs. Most importantly, we would reduce the "risk" of serious supply disruptions and the economic disaster that could result from the instabilities in the Middle East, Nigeria, and Venezuela.

The security of the United States is at risk. Oil should not be used like some pawn to garner votes and campaign contributions from the likes of MoveOn.org or Greenpeace or the Sierra Club. This is serious business that should not be treated so lightly that our politicians can take a 5-week hiatus; as they did last Friday. Nancy Pelosi and company are trying to stall past the election; thinking that they will have complete control and the ability to hoist the wishes of their "small" political base of environmentalists onto all of America. For the Democrats, the cost to America for their inaction is immaterial. They see no problem in ramming trillions upon trillions of dollars in ineffective and premature energy ideas onto this country so Al Gore can sleep at night. This is literally crazy and probably the most irresponsible government we've ever had in this country. A government that absolutely hasn't thought through the realities of what they are doing and plan to do.

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