Obama finds religion on offshore drilling

Just the thought of drilling makes prices go down. Heck if we would start using solar, wind, and nuclear power imagine what that would do to oil. Obama will say whatever it takes to win, like a true politician. I am afraid the only thing that he is changing is his mind. He seems to be waivering on quite a few things now that he is the only democrat left.

Actually, for Obama to admit in the face of evidence it is necessary to change one's mind is a positive to me. Let's hope he keeps it up. Maybe he can be a conservative democrat before the election.

I think that the oil companies are afraid of pumping the wells dry because with all the laws and bans on drilling they will not have another resource. It takes a long time to drill off shore if we don't get started now we will really be in trouble.

Xfahctor, I think you also deserve a pat on the back for saying this and I mean it with all sincerity, no sarcasm intended at all. I said many times and for a long time that flip-flopping isn't always a totally bad thing and some flip-flops aren't really flip-flops, if that makes any sense at all, and I've seen it apply to members of both parties in regards to various issues. Myself, at 55 I know I still have much to learn about many things and I hope I never stop learning and growing as long as I'm still alive. It so happens that as we learn we sometimes find out we've been wrong about one thing or another and I don't think there's any shame in admitting that and moving on from there. You're so right about the "tipping point" where some of us must bite the bullet and I think we've reached that point. I think I'm like many other Americans who are no experts when it comes to drilling for oil or alternative energy. That doesn't mean I or the rest of those like me are stupid or lazy or irresponsible it's just that we all have our areas of expertise - well, hopefully we do...lol! - and for other areas we trust in those how are more knowledgeable than were are to tell us the facts. We also hope that when we reach the tipping point you mentioned above that those who are supposed to know more about something that we do will abandon their "agenda" and do the right thing. I'd like to believe that all of us care about our environment, to varying degrees of course, but there comes a time when we must rearrange our priorities and do some compromising. I think we all can now agree that we need to come up with some alternate sources of energy and that it's not going to solve a thing to go back and forth and blame somebody or something from a year ago, eight years ago or twenty years ago. Obviously, if this would have been addressed years ago we wouldn't be in the shape we're in today but that ship has sailed so let's move on from where we are now. Annie

The first thing we need to do is get rid of the oil speculators.These are the idiots who are really raising the costs of oil.We have several American companies that get their oil strictly from the United States and the gas is the same price as every where else.Then we do what we should have done a long time ago.We quit depending on foreign oil. One of the biggest reasons Obama is against off-shore drilling is because a large portion of his campaign funds came from the same countries we get the majority of our oil from.The only reason he would be giving in even a little on this is he would probably lose votes over it.

Unfortunately, some folks think that since it could take as long as 10 years before we actually benefited from drilling in the Gulf that we shouldn't do so.

Hello X, You're looking to the health of the nation, and the individual over the politics of the election. Who can fault you for that? You'll certainly not get bopped by a hurled brick from me, that's for sure! While I understand the reason for your 'attaboy' to BO, I am not 'at peace' with what he had to say at the alleged 'news conference' this morning. Specifically, he said that he had a vision of where the country needed to go, but that the Republicans had a different vision of where the country needed to go, and that in the spirit of 'getting the job done' for the whole country, he realized that he would have to make some sacrifices (or compromises -- I forget which word he actually used). I have a problem with that. That problem is: If drilling to alleviate the immediate fuel cruch is a sacrifice or a compromise away from his 'vision' of where the country needs to go, then what happens if he wins the election and no longer has the pressure of the fear of losing the election? Will he ride rough shod over the will of The People, as Mdm. Pelosi has? It would require that he 'buck' Pelosi and Reid if he remained diligent in responding to We The People. I have seen no evidence that he is willing to buck the Dem. leadership -- ever! He has no history of abandoning the Dem. position to cross the aisle on any legislation, State of IL or Federal. So, what should make us think that this 'compromise' or 'sacrifice' is other than simply a calculation to favor his chances of winning the election? And, that if elected he will revert to pushing his 'vision' without consideration to the will of The People? As I see it, this is simply more of the same old, same old. Politicians have been telling us what we want to hear as long as there have been politicians. In the majority of instances, their campaign promises are hauled away from the curb on the morning after election day. So, what happens if the Dems. fein cooperation now, then yank that cooperative effort on Nov. 5th? This would be worse than reaching no compromise at all. Why? Because the prices will begin to drop for now, then skyrocket when the country realizes that it has been duped. That subsequent fuel cost elevation will be just in time for the holidays. If folks believe that their discretionary spending will be freer, then they'll be inclined to over-spend in anticipation of Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hannukah. Then wham! The rug will get yanked out from under them -- again! Then in a terrible blow to every citizen with a 401 (c or k), or an IRA, the stock market will take a terrible hit at the historically worst time of year -- Oct and Nov. What's more, 'big' and 'small' oil will have allocated how much of their resources to expanded drilling? Then, they'll see the initiatives blocked again. Or, worse yet, political permitting games that stall progress while eating up resources. It certainly wouldn't be the first time! How many times have local drilling initiatives been given a 'green' light, only to be stalled by litigation after the company has spent millions on the project: economic impact studies, permitting costs, equipment, labor, etc... I can think of two such examples in the past 6 months in my state alone! So, when I hear this kind of begrudging surrender, I am very skeptical. BO wants to win the election, and telling a fib about something they hate as much as 'big oil' certainly isn't going to cause him to lose sleep.

good point! but has he really changed his mind or is he just saying what we want to hear? Please read my blog- "After the Dark Knight- Who will lead us out of the Dark Night-

I was happy to see Obama say that drilling is on the table, as with his foreign policy, I think that everything should be on the table. When you to limit your options, you limit your results. The problem that conservatitives have this years is that McCain has done his own fair share of flip flopping, his allows for both of them to change their mind often, and without fear of what happened to Kerry. The only thing I say to those that want to drill, is I hope that you see the need to keep that oil here in the United States. I was very upset to see republicans vote against a bill that would make the oil companies keep the oil they produce here to stay here. One of the other things I hope that everyone knows is the fact that the oil companies don't want to drill. It doesn't make business sense to drill with the price so high, just yesterday the 2nd quarter results came in for the majority of oil companies, and they set a record of $50.1 billion for three months. Do you understand why these guys don't want to change one thing?