Posted on 06/27/2008 9:05:16 AM PDT by thackney
MIAMI (Reuters) - Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Friday that politicians who suggest that lifting a ban on offshore oil drilling would ease rising fuel prices in the United States were "blowing smoke."
The comments were seen by the U.S. media as a slap at Republican leaders including President George W. Bush and the party's presumptive presidential nominee John McCain, who have recently spoken in favor of more offshore drilling as America tries to wean itself from its dependence on foreign oil.
A spokesman for the governor, however, said the comments were not directed at McCain, nor at Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who has backed McCain's stance on offshore drilling.
Rising oil prices and record-high $4-a-gallon gasoline and their impact on the faltering U.S. economy have put energy concerns squarely at the center of the contest between McCain and Democrat Barack Obama in November.
Speaking at a climate change gathering of politicians and business leaders hosted by fellow Republican Crist, Schwarzenegger said politicians have been "throwing around all kinds of ideas in response to the skyrocketing energy crisis, from rethinking nuclear power to pushing biofuels and more renewables and ending the ban on offshore drilling."
"Anyone who tells you that this will bring down our gas prices immediately or any time soon is blowing smoke," he said. "America is so addicted to oil it will take us years to wean ourselves from it and to look for new ways to feed our addiction is not the answer."
...
ENERGY PLAN
McCain has embraced offshore drilling in recent days and proposed a plan to build 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030. Obama has criticized McCain's drilling stance, and instead has advocated a plan to slap new taxes on oil company profits.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Damn it all, why couldn’t this clown just stick to acting? He had to stick his nose into the recall race that should have been won easily by McClintock.
I pray to Gawd...some day.....someway....let me see Kallephornya freed of publicity-pimping swine like Ahnuld....no guts..no glory Ahnuld....you pimp.
Did you vote for him?
He still thinks we're gonna have a "Hydrogen Highway" in CA, just because he has a Hydrogen Hummer that can only gas-up at 23 stations in all of CA!!!
And we thought Gray Davis was a dufuss!!!
Sadly, I did during the recall.
We all make mistakes.
So you do regret it then.
Are you voting for McCain?
Oh, I regret it, and I have for a long time. I do not like McCain, at all, but I will vote for him to keep Obama out of office, and I won’t do anything to help him. I don’t believe the world will end just because Obama gets elected, like many here suggest. But I do believe the long term effects of his incompetence will play out over many years, just like we are still paying for the Carter administration.
We need another recall NOW!
I made the choice to vote for Arnold based on what I thought he would do. I don’t see that I have much choice in this election. Throwing my vote to a third party candidate who will pull 6 or 7 percent at best is a waste of time. You don’t start a viable third party at election time. I will throw my support to conservative congressmen to fight McCain’s liberal leanings and work to get someone else in his place in 4 years. At least McCain is right on the war in Iraq, Obama is not right on anything. That said, I am not committed to McCain, if there was a realistic choice, I would certainly go for it.
But his feeble excuse is that he buys carbon credits...
To fuel his fleet of Hummer H1,s????
I understand, it is the boat we are all in.
But I find McCain supporters like yourself...interesting. Because you felt the exact same way when you voted for Arnold and now you deeply regret that choice. I wonder if you are not suffering from cognitive dissonance (I won’t cal it hypocrisy - I don’t think that is it).
How could you possible expect a different result for supporting a liberal RINO this time around?
Was Arnold right on anything?
Actually, I felt good about voting for Arnold. I honestly believed he would use his charisma to bring more people to our side. I believe elected Republicans do a horrible job explaining conservatism, and if we could just get someone to connect with people, we could lure a lot of voters from the Democrats.
Dont misunderstand; I am not a McCain supporter. McCain is the only candidate of that sorry group we had, I swore I would never vote for. Had Hillary gotten the nomination, I would probably be inclined to stay home in November. I hate the thought of her earning the historical significance of being the first woman president, but I think she has an understanding of what is at risk in Iraq.
Obama is so unqualified he is scary. Like Bill Clinton, he is running for office to make something of himself, and like Clinton he will be a failure. Because of Clinton, the Chinese are much stronger, militarily. It is clear Obama thinks it is his duty to sell us out to our enemies, and I have no doubt he will. To listen to his speeches; he thinks he is running for president of the world.
I had hopes when I voted for Arnold; I dont have any misperceptions about who McCain is. This election to me is like having to choose between getting hit in the head with a 95 mph fastball or an 85 mph fastball. If I have to choose Ill take the one that will hurt least.
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