Posted on 08/01/2008 4:07:50 PM PDT by Pinkbell
ST. PETERSBURG U.S. Sen. Barack Obama said today he would be willing to open Florida's coast for more oil drilling if it meant winning approval for broad energy changes.
"My interest is in making sure we've got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices," Obama said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post.
"If, in order to get that passed, we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage - I don't want to be so rigid that we can't get something done," Obama said.
Off-shore drilling has become a push-button issue in the presidential campaign since Republican candidate John McCain announced his support to open more of the country's coastline for drilling in order to reduce gas prices. Both candidates are campaigning in Florida today.
Obama has opposed exposing more coastline to drilling, saying that oil companies have not fully explored the areas open to drilling now and insisting that it would have little immediate impact on prices at the pump.
After speaking to a capacity crowd at Gibbs High School auditorium in St. Petersburg, he told the Post he would be open to expanding the current drilling boundaries if it meant winning approval for more fuel-efficient cars, developing alternative energy sources and making the country more "energy independent."
"I think it's important for the American people to understand we're not going to drill our way out of this problem," he said.
"It's also important to recognize if you start drilling now you won't see a drop of oil for ten years, which means its not going to have a significant impact on short-term prices. Every expert agrees on that."
McCain has tried to paint Obama as an obstacle to lower gas prices in a pair of television ads that boast McCain's off-shore drilling position while blaming Obama for $4-per-gallon gas. Neither of the ads have targeted Florida voters.
Once a taboo topic in Florida politics, some Republicans in the state, including Gov. Charlie Crist, have said they'd be willing to explore Florida's coast to combat soaring gas prices.
"The Republicans and the oil companies have been really beating the drums on drilling," Obama said in the interview. "And so we don't want gridlock. We want to get something done."
During his speech to the St. Petersburg audience, Obama mostly focused on economic issues.
He said the $500 and $1,000 tax rebate checks he had proposed for next year should be mailed immediately.
Obama clarified his call for a windfall profits tax on oil companies, saying it should be limited to five years. And he revamped his $50 billion economic package, stipulating that $25 billion be spent on repairing roads, bridges and schools.
His 30-minute speech was interrupted by three young black men who held up a banner reading, "What about the black community, Obama?" The disruption caused Obama to stop his speech while the rest of the audience responded with their own chant, "Yes we can."
After about two minutes, Obama restored order, telling the men they'd get a chance to ask a question in the Q&A portion of the townhall meeting.
"You're feisty here in St. Pete," Obama said.
One of the men asked about "the attacks against the African-American community" by the "same U.S. government that you aspire to lead." He pointed to sub-prime mortgages aimed at black and Latino communities, instances of police profiling, the Jena Six and the slow response to Hurricane Katrina.
"Why is it that you have not had the ability to speak to the interests or even speak on behalf of the oppressed and exploited African community, the black community, in this country?" he said.
Obama said he fought against predatory lending in the U.S. and Illinois Senate; passed the first racial profiling bill and "some of the toughest death penalty reform" in Illinois; and plugged his background as a civil rights lawyer.
"On each of these issues I have spoken out," Obama said. "I may not have spoken out the way you wanted me to speak out."
Obama is the most shallow candidate for president that I can ever remember.
He's also a new kind of candidate who won't say anything just to get elected. Even our pathetic excuse for a governor is now on board with drilling off the coast.
I think the Obamamessiah's poll numbers have a lot of people in his camp concerned. Good. The more we see him as an empty vessel the better our chances are of beating him. He's Xerox without the toner.
The democrats control what bills come to the floor. They have 90 days to stall and do nothing. Obama isn’t going to have to vote for anything before the election if the rats don’t want him to.
I disagree. Public pressure will cause them to do something. They are on recess dealing with constituents angry about $4 gas.
If the RNC is smart, they run against not only Obama, but also against the Dem Congress. This energy stonewall is a great issue and could allow the Reps to pick up seats.
LOL!
Poorly written lead. The Wall St Journal had it better:
Democrats, Republicans Team Up on Oil Bill
A group of Democratic lawmakers is banding with Republicans to draft legislation that would ease the federal moratorium on offshore oil drilling while ending a tax break for oil companies.
The effort highlights the eagerness of some Democrats to break a deadlock in Washington over energy policy as Congress heads for a monthlong recess without having passed legislation to address high gasoline prices.
Many party leaders, including Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, have criticized proposals by President George W. Bush and the Republicans' presumptive presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, to lift the offshore-drilling ban. But opinion polls indicate rising support among voters for increased domestic drilling, including in coastal areas where such activity is currently prohibited.
In a move that could signal a possible softening of Sen. Obama's position, his campaign on Friday issued a statement praising the bill but stopped short of an endorsement.
A spokesman for Sen. McCain said that while he "applauds the bipartisan effort," he wouldn't support the proposal because "he cannot and will not support legislation that raises taxes."
On Friday, 10 senators -- five Democrats and five Republicans -- announced legislation to open to drilling additional acreage in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida's western coast. The legislation would allow Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia to "opt in" to allowing drilling off their shores if their legislatures approve.
At the same time, the bill would raise billions of dollars for various conservation and energy-efficiency programs by making oil companies no longer eligible for a manufacturing tax credit. Some estimates have put the potential savings from such a move at $13 billion over 10 years.
The manufacturing tax credit seeks to encourage job creation in the U.S. by giving a tax break to all domestic manufacturers that produce goods in the country, including oil companies.
Within minutes of the senators' unveiling of the bill, Sen. Obama's campaign released a statement that praised the proposal as "a good faith effort" and "an important step in the process of reducing our dangerous dependence on foreign oil."
Asked whether Sen. Obama's comments signal an intention to support a relaxation of the ban, an Obama campaign spokesman said, "He welcomes this compromise as a first, bipartisan step....If a group of senators come to him with a good-faith effort to solve a major challenge like this one that contains some steps he doesn't like, he's not going to reject it out of hand." A person familiar with the matter said Sen. Obama is likely to elaborate in the coming days on steps he would pursue as president to boost domestic energy production.
Although Sen. Obama said he remained "skeptical" that new offshore drilling would reduce gas prices in the short term, his comments opened the door to working with the group. He said he welcomed "the establishment of a process that will allow us to make future drilling decisions based on science and fact."
Now Obama has angered blacks with opposition to reparations other than inner city programs. He is truly diabolical and has no center.
Picking up seats would be a great hedge against a possible Obama win.
NOthing is sacred to this Manchurian. He is programmed to do one thing only win. Methods matter little.
Absolutely!
Notice the endless triangulating, it's all programmed into the black messiah.
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