Posted on 08/05/2008 11:29:39 AM PDT by Red Steel
WASHINGTON — Amid record gas prices and mounting criticism from the McCain campaign, Senator Obama is shifting his stance on key energy issues.
His campaign insists the moves demonstrate his pragmatism, but Republicans say the Illinois senator is merely following the polls.
Mr. Obama yesterday called for releasing 70 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, less than one month after he voiced opposition to tapping the emergency stockpile.
The presumptive Democratic nominee also said he is open to a Senate compromise that includes new offshore drilling, though he has spent weeks criticizing Republican drilling proposals.
Mr. Obama's new tone and positioning come as Senator McCain has intensified his attacks on the Democrat's energy policy in television ads and on the campaign trail. Republicans have tried to pin the moniker "Dr. No" on Mr. Obama as a response to his resistance to measures aimed at reducing fuel prices, included expanded drilling and a temporary lifting of the federal gas tax earlier in the summer.
Several recent polls have shown a dead heat in a race that Mr. Obama had been leading, suggesting that Mr. McCain's more aggressive strategy may be gaining traction. A survey by the Pew Research Center last month also found that, as gas prices have risen steadily, so has public support for offshore drilling.
During a speech in Michigan, Mr. Obama unveiled an energy plan geared toward reducing prices in the short term while weaning America off foreign oil within a decade. In addition to tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, he said he would give immediate $1,000 energy rebates to American families, an initiative that would be funded by a proposed windfall profits tax on oil companies.
The Obama campaign also released a new TV ad yesterday hitting back at Mr. McCain's energy policy
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
Wasn’t McCain against drilling before he was for it?
Nice way of saying "flip-flop".............
Obama, Mr come lately, changed his view when his poll numbers started to tank.
“With McCain, he changed his view on drilling when the facts changed - higher gas prices. “
Gas prices have been rising since the early 1990’s. When did McCain’s facts change?
And for those of you who question the fact that McCain bases his positions on the issues according to how many votes he can get, just review and remember the actions he has taken to create his ‘Maverick’ personna.
When gasoline reached $4 per gallon.
So, now that gas is below $4, will McCain’s facts change again?
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