Proposed ANWR Drill Site
ANWR satellite real drilling site 1
Posted on 08/17/2008 4:27:21 AM PDT by Man50D
Steve Hayes, who created a stir this week with his interview with McCain in which the nominee declined to rule out a pro-choice veep, has some more good insight from his chat in the new issue of The Weekly Standard.
McCain, it appears, isn't totally closing the door on dropping his opposition to drilling in ANWR.
In an interview with THE WEEKLY STANDARD aboard his campaign plane last week, McCain made clear he has not ruled out a change in his position — to one that endorses drilling in ANWR. "I continue to examine it," he said. So does his staff. McCain's campaign has been quietly studying the ANWR issue and discussing the potential consequences — good and bad — of a policy change.
But in our conversation on August 13, McCain added a new wrinkle. When I asked him if he had consulted Palin about ANWR, he said that he had not yet done so. He added, "I probably should," he said. "I will."
Part of the calculus at work is that, like McCain, Obama has moved to get closer to where voters are on drilling but the Democrat likely couldn't go as far as flipping on ANWR.
For months, McCain had worked hard to portray Obama as "Dr. No" on energy. With his statement, Obama became Dr. Maybe-Under-the-Right-Circumstances. It was a subtle shift, but Obama could plausibly claim that he was open to offshore drilling and that his position was not much different from his opponent's. McCain advisers are eager to restore a sharp contrast on energy and say they're skeptical Obama will ever voice support, however qualified, for drilling in ANWR.
Last Friday, McCain had breakfast in Aspen, Colo., with Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, who has taken out television ads to promote his efforts to end American dependence on foreign oil. After the breakfast, Pickens told reporters that he had pushed McCain to drill in ANWR. McCain, Pickens continued, "said that he hadn't decided to do that ... yet. But it was, you know, still an open question."
I want to hear John McCain (and in particular, B. Hussein Obama) explain why it is better to send $113 million/day (based on today's price of oil) to nut-case countries funding those trying to kill us,,,,
rather than keep that money and those jobs HERE.
Will either one of them (or both of them) PLEASE EXPLAIN TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHY IT IS BETTER TO SEND THAT MONEY OVERSEAS TO NUT-CASE COUNTRIES (who are actually funding the Taliban--whom Obama wants to send more troops to fight) RATHER THAN KEEP IT HERE???
It is NOT an environment issue at this point,,,,it is a NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE!
Note to McCain: Worst thing you could do to Vlad the Impaler, Johnny, is hit him in the wallet. Open ANWR and you’ll do just that.
All McCain has to say about ANWR is, “I didn’t change my mind, Putin changed it for me.”
Great pictures, as usual.
Point not mentioned but maybe it does not need saying, we stand a better chance of changing McCain’s mind on ANWR drilling than we ever will with Obama.
Hey give him a break. He’s just trying to protect the endangered pander bears.
Drilling is the Arctic Wastelands is critical for national security, energy costs, and US economic health. Help McCain make a decision (phone no. (703) 418-2008) and then elect him!
BEST POST OF THE DAY!
And follow that up with "It's no longer an environmental issue, it's now a national security issue"!
Go with ANWR, pick a pro-life running mate, and then march right into the White House.
It’s all in McCain’s hands now.
McCain’s stance against drilling in ANWR is not logically consistent with his switch in favor of offshore drilling. In fact, it is indefensible. You can’t be a little bit pregnant.
dipsh-t
Yep. No mulling. Vladimir Putin on ANWR and La Raza President Janet Marguia endorsing Obamanation on dropping his pursuit of the illegal alien’s amnesty.
McCain is being handed the Presidency with these issues. I wonder if `lil Jonny “Maverick” McCain actually has connecting brain cells.
McCain just refuses to do anything that might excite and energize the base. I guess he would rather 'play it safe' with his perceived 'maverick' role towards conservatives. Sigh.
ANWR is irrelevant. Conservatives need to just give up on it; it’s foolishness.
Why? Because in the 3-5 years it’ll take to get oil flowing from ANWR we can have TRIPLE the oil flowing from oil shale deposits in Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado.
More importantly, in 10 years we could have 20 million barrels a day coming from our oil shale - our entire domestic consumption. We’re talking not just eliminating a Saudi Arabia’s worth of imports, ALL imports of petroleum.
And we can sustain that rate with the PROVEN reserves of oil shale for 280 years, at $40 per barrel.
Best of all, the locations can be developed and pumped year round (no soft melt season like in ANWR), it’s already on the Continental US so transportation is a non-issue, and it’s close to the largest states (California and Texas).
Seriously, ANWR is a non-issue; we need to drop that mantra and take up OIL SHALE. It, and it alone, is the 3 CENTURY LONG source of 100% of our petroleum needs, and could turn the US from an oil importer to an oil exporter.
We pump 20 million barrels a day of oil shale? Suddenly the 7 million barrels a day we already pump becomes a surplus, sold on the open market (at the $40 a barrel oil would drop to if we developed our oil shale). That swing would not only eliminate $500 billion of our trade deficit (oil imports), but add another $146 billion in exports. We go from a $600 billion trade deficit to a $50 billion trade surplus.
Oil shale is what conservatives should chant. ANWR is a sidelight, and too small of a reserve to worry about. We should focus on the BIG reserve we have and get that rolling. Why 40 years of 1 million barrels a day with ANWR? Why not 280 years of 20 million barrels a day with oil shale?
Agree for sure. Drilling in ANWR is my litmus test for McCain. If he has refused to say “let's drill in ANWR” by election day, then I will refuse to vote for him - and donate my paltry sum of money that I usually donate to the GOP. I think that I am not alone in this position...
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