... clings to the frame that it's an ill-considered political gambit, rather than Obama simply doing what he chooses to do. The idea that he doesn't want what liberals want is still unthinkable to most.

Wasn't his campaign slogan "Drill Baby, Drill"?.....er no, wait... that was the other guy.

instead of falling for the age-worn promise of change!

sustainable and, well, non-rent providing solutions?

How long will Chu stay in the administration? Or does he still think he can influence of Corporatist in Chief???

He said today we must make changes -- yeah, to increase the Big Corporations revenue streams.

WTF??? Repeat until hoarse.

with himself, saying he's doing it to bring Repubs on board for the energy bill, but actually moving rightward and closer into the arms of Big Corporations. He's taking important bargaining chips "off the table" -- again.

He is incorrigible.

*HCR--High Corporate Revenues. Seriously, remaining believers, that "C" in "HCR" does not stand for "Care."

But he did tell America morning Teevee that he was going to keep reaching out to Repubs, trying to bring them to approve of his actions and legislation. He really wants them to like him, he really does. (Gotta go find that video now.)

From the NYTimes article:

The proposal is intended to reduce dependence on oil imports, generate revenue from the sale of offshore leases and help win political support for comprehensive energy and climate legislation.

How'd that work out with your BHIP-PPP Obama/RomneyCare, Mr. Prez?

...Check out Susie's post on that.

...President Obama recess-appointed Islam Siddiqui to be chief agricultural negotiator in the office of the U.S. trade representative. Dr. Siddiqui’s nomination was held up in the Senate and was opposed by the Center for Biological Diversity and more than 80 other environmental, small-farm, and consumer groups. More than 90,000 concerned citizens contacted the White House and Senate to oppose the nomination. Siddiqui is a former pesticide lobbyist and is currently vice president of science and regulatory affairs at CropLife America, a biotech and pesticide trade group that lobbies to weaken environmental laws.

“Dr. Siddiqui’s confirmation is a step backward,” said Tierra Curry, a scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “His appointment ensures the perpetuation of pesticide- and fossil-fuel-intensive policies, which undermine global food security and imperil public health and wildlife.”

As undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Siddiqui oversaw the development of the first national organic labeling standards, which allowed sewage sludge-fertilized, genetically modified, and irradiated food to be labeled as organic before public outcry forced more stringent standards. Siddiqui has derided the European Union’s ban on hormone-treated beef and has vowed to pressure the European Union to accept more genetically modified crops.

close to McCain/Palin to me. From McCain's nomination acceptance speech in 2008:

"Sen. Obama thinks we can achieve energy independence without more drilling and without more nuclear power. But Americans know better than that. We must use all resources and develop all technologies necessary to rescue our economy from the damage caused by rising oil prices and to restore the health of our planet."

McCain's speech comes a day after Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, his vice presidential pick, said her state was ready to provide more energy for America. "The fact that drilling won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all," she said.

McCain went out of his way to tout green technology. In addition to building more nuclear power plants, he said: "We will develop clean coal technology. We will increase the use of wind, tide, solar, and natural gas. We will encourage the development and use of flex fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles."

Rain and snow have their friends, but slush have neither. From Obama's announcement:

Ultimately, we need to move beyond the tired debates between right and left, between business leaders and environmentalists, between those who would claim drilling is a cure all and those who would claim it has no place. Because this issue is just too important to allow our progress to languish while we fight the same old battles over and over again.

John Kerry says it may help to get 60 votes in the Senate. But, John, Barry --why should they give you anything when you keep giving them everything even before any debate?

DOE has apparently laid some groundwork for this step:

The Department of Energy’s leading analyst of global oil markets told a blogger for the French newspaper Le Monde that world oil production could decline from 2011 to 2015 “if the investment is not there.”

This forecast comes from Glen Sweetnam, the director of the International Economic and Greenhouse Gas Division at the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical branch of the DOE. Sweetnam oversees the publication of the EIA’s yearly International Energy Outlook, one of the most authoritative sources on forecasting global oil supply and demand.

While Sweetnam says that global oil production could fall as early as next year, he—like the DOE at large—does not fully subscribe to peak oil theory, which states that world oil production will at some point peak and irrevocably decline as oil, a finite resource, is exhausted. Instead, Sweetnam believes that oil production will reach an “undulating plateau” at which production will dip but then be restored through investment in new oil production capacity. In 2008 Sweetnam gave a presentation for the DOE that said oil production could remain at its undulating plateau until 2090, when production would begin to fall.

the climate can't take it and newable energy would have the happy effect of creating jobs. this is so Exelon or whoever they are. so shameless, so heedless.

dependence on foreign oil--from Think Progressl. Via Greg Sargent at The Plum Line.

However, as commenters all over point out, Obama was campaigning on a change of heart during the presidential election.

And Correntians were pointing that out then, I'm sure.

Sargent said Pelosi offered a noncommittal comment:

“The Obama Administration’s initiative regarding drilling on public lands must ensure that any offshore and onshore plan proceeds in an environmentally and fiscally responsible manner. Taxpayers who own these resources have been historically shortchanged from the huge profits received from drilling on public lands, and must receive a fair return in the future.”

My senator, Frank Lautenberg, minces no words. (Love ya, guy. Get well. Stay well. Stay sharp.) He says it's a Kill, Baby, Kill" policy (damn straight).

This is what a liberal sounds like.

Read and weep, you ostensible Dem prez who is a drill, baby, drill St. Ronnie channeler and Repub fluffer.

“Drilling off the Virginia coast would endanger many of New Jersey’s beaches and vibrant coastal economies,” stated Lautenberg. “Giving Big Oil more access to our nation’s waters is really a Kill, Baby, Kill policy: it threatens to kill jobs, kill marine life and kill coastal economies that generate billions of dollars. Offshore drilling isn’t the solution to our energy problems, and I will fight this policy and continue to push for 21st century clean energy solutions.”

Whole statement at link--stats and facts and guts.

2) DanR March 31st, 2010 at 11:11 am

The President knows we cannot drill our way to energy independence

Reminds me of Kevin Baker’s observation that Barack Obama, again and again–whether it’s about war, terrorism, healthcare or the environment–tells us that the current system is broken and then proceeds to tell us that the system must be maintained.

has already decimated our tourism industry here in florida, might as well pollute the beaches too [and who needs sea turtles and snowy plovers and least terns and black skimmers anyway?] since the foreigners are no longer coming here to see them.

Plenty of older folk are caught in the Obama can do no wrong trap as well. And, frankly, it was you older folks who wrote teh RuleZ that allowed for the rigging of the primary.

Oh right, because he is sooooo much better than evil McCain. And, look, Palin is an idiot.

that have significance?

Michael Kreischnick, presdident of CREDO Mobile, writes in HuffPo about Obama doing another bunk of the base...and tries to figure out why, why, why he's doing such a thing. Did Obama do some deals with Dems with strong energy interests in order to get Obama/RomneyCare votes? Or what?

*If indeed he has actually lost Kreischnick...breaking up is hard to do.

the Democrats might want to send a special FU to their devoted followers this Christmas!

really, when the Kosniks and others keep trying to spin everything he does into something Hopey Changey, the natural thing to do would be to keep pushing until there's something they can't spin!

Obama's part. Guy had always been against off-shore drilling, thinks it is bad for the environment, but sees that Obama is doing a good thing in offering this as an olive branch to the Republicans. WTF!!!???

I had just been thinking to myself that Obama is making it OK to give up so many fights, to even become Repub Lite (or is it closer to heavy?), that it's almost like Reagan making discrimination OK with his talk of Welfare Queens and their Cadillacs.

God, what a mess we've been bamboozled into. OK, most folks here were not fooled or were at least wary, but the overall public was fooled, mislead, and misinformed by the MCM (Mainstream Corporate Media).

And this caller sounded so sincere in his belief that, while he has always fought against something, now that Obama was doing it it was just great. Not simply OK, but a great leadership move.

Heaven help protect us from the True Believers.