Oil No More

The eagerness and desperation of some on Capitol Hill to drill for oil is leaving a bland taste in my mouth. I for one agree with T. Boone Pickens (although he was responsible for John Kerry's demise in 2004) that we cannot drill our way out of the problem. Conservatives seem to have drilling and more drilling on the menu. They believe McCain has an edge over Obama, calling him "Dr. No" (from James Bond). They even went so far as to lay high oil prices at his feet. Obama has agreed to some offshore drilling as long as it comes in a package geared towards making us more eco friendly. It was a rather savvy political move on his part to agree to something because it takes some of the steam out of what McCain sails that the Straight Talker could have really capitalized on.

Most analysts suggest that we would not see a drop of oil for 10 to 15 years. Conservatives disagree stating that gas has taken a dive since G-Dub lifted the federal moratorium. Nice try. Gas is going to be high and there is no getting around it. It will never drop below $3.50 (period) and if it does then Obama can drive home the uncertainty of our continued dependence on foreign dictators and tyrants to fund our habit. McCain has even noted that if we drill here and drill now, that it will be more of a psychological benefit than a real one. And the public has yet to pick up on it.

If Obama had said something like that, he'd be called on the carpet for it. But Obama's plan, although ambitious is more practical. So what is going on?

The public has taken the Republican delicacy hook, line and sinker. Obama needs to drop the complexity and get to moving on getting the public interested in other ways of fueling our vehicles. He needs to say more specifically why we cannot continue to be beholden to Saudi Arabia, UAE and other people over in the Middle East to run our Toyotas and Fords. Obama can win this argument if he lays out specifics, but cuts to the point and drops the nuance.