Drill Away
ARLINGTON -- John McCain today called for the federal moratorium on offshore drilling and oil exploration to be lifted. He said that states that want to permit drilling should have the ability to move forward.
Americans, McCain said during a press conference at his campaign headquarters, are enduring "very significant economic challenges and pain" due to the rising cost of gasoline.
"We must embark on a national mission to reduce dependence on foreign oil," McCain said.
McCain also reiterated his call for a gas tax holiday.
The Arizona senator pushed, too, for Barack Obama to accept his weekly town hall challenge between now and the party conventions. "If we're really going to change the dynamic in Washington and change how we do business, let's change the game," he said.
McCain also suggested the rivals face off before the National Council of La Raza this summer in California. They've agreed to speak separately to the group, McCain noted, so why not together?
During the Democratic primary contests, Obama performed poorly among Hispanic voters, a critical swing constituency that helped President Bush win the 2000 and 2004 contests.
McCain also hammered Obama for not visiting Iraq in nearly 900 days, and he suggested the presumptive Democratic nominee take a meeting with Gen. David Petraeus before continuing to advocate that the United States set a timeline for troop withdrawal. McCain said Obama "was wrong when he said the surge would not succeed." Obama's suggested timeline, McCain said, would lead to "chaos and genocide."
"I am convinced we are on the path to victory" in Iraq, McCain said today.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Yes, he should take a 100-troop stroll through a Bahgdad market, further hampering our military's ability to do its job.
No more drilling! We need to ween ourselves from all oil, not just foreign oil.
To the last poster - And what about the trillions of cubic feet of CLEAN Natural Gas offshore?
We lost the war between the states,for state right.All 50 state,suppose to be for all the people common good.we need to be drilling in ANWR and all other states.price off oil would like a rock.then we have plenty of time to come up with fuels.
ANWR is the biggest scam since Iraq.
@Jessica
No more drilling? What? Yeah, lets kill the supply so prices skyrocket even higher, that's brilliant.
@Jessica
No more drilling? What? Yeah, lets kill the supply so prices skyrocket even higher, that's brilliant.
@Jessica
No more drilling? What? Yeah, lets kill the supply so prices skyrocket even higher, that's brilliant.
I think we need to drill and explore for oil in our own region. Offshore inland and or whatever. The oil producing nations mostly the Arab nations can’t stand us anyway, little people know we are funding them to buy in to our mortgage banks and lenders, hummm foreclosures no problem to them, they would like to see us all with out a house!
Let the drilling begin!!!
It is amazing, McCain wants to drill, keeping us back in the 20th century while Japan is moving into the 21st century with the new Honda hydrogen electric cars. Which is the better way I wonder? The technology is here we just have to be brave and act on it.
We use 30 billion barrels of oil a year. The US has proven reserves of 21 billion barrels in total. Just how much will we spend in environmental impact to achieve less than 1 year's total oil? We need a new strategy, not more of the same.
>>>No more drilling? What? Yeah, lets kill the supply so prices skyrocket even higher, that's brilliant.
Haha. Jeez are YOU uninformed!
If you knew anything about the current price of oil, you would know that SPECULATION is why the prices are inflated.
Speculation due to the Enron Loophole created by McCain's buddy Phil Gramm (who also engineered the housing bubble).
Use The Google:
"McCain Enron Loophole"
"McCain Phil Gramm"
Brilliant.
@Elaine
We ARE acting on it. Have you ever heard of the Ford HySeries Edge, the Chevy Volt Hydrogen or the GM HydroGen3 Minivan? Me and the rest of the country are still using oil, does that mean we're stuck in the 20th century? McCain is simply trying to keep prices down by increasing supply.
What's Obama's plan? Tax the hell out of the oil companies, right? And what will that do? Make gas even more expensive. Why? Because the oil companies will have to offset those taxes by raising prices. More shortsighted, ignorant thinking from the empty suit, Barack Obama.
Mike, you have no concept of economics and i am ashamed to share the same name.
@Ethan
Yes, and why is speculation the reason for inflated prices?
Speculators are trading what? Oil futures. That is, they are buying and selling oil contracts based on what they think the price will be IN THE FUTURE.
So, given that, if we were to increase domestic oil production by 1 million barrels a day (ANWR) don't you think the price would drop a bit? I think so.
Drilling won't help. If McCain is right that we've got 21 billion barrels of oil in the US, that's not enough to make a dent in the price. We use nearly 21 million barrels per day. That means that we'd use 21 billion barrels up in a little over 3 years!
Face it folks, we've got two options and we need to urgently pursue both:
1) Conservation
2) Develop alternative energy sources like solar & wind
>>>So, given that, if we were to increase domestic oil production by 1 million barrels a day (ANWR) don't you think the price would drop a bit?
No. It won't drop the price of oil one bit.
First of all, 1M b/d is NOTHING to the global market. And Dan, you DO realize that the price of oil is the price of the GLOBAL MARKET, right? You do realize that right?
Secondly, let me introduce you to a little oil cartel... Dan, OPEC, OPEC, Dan.
"""Chris | 06.17.08 02:41 PM"""
Nails it. Thanks Chris.
I suggest the neocon/drill-everywhere crowd read my initial point:
ANWR is the BIGGEST SCAM SINCE IRAQ.
It is political mumbo-jumbo bought by the multinationals to give the GOP something to whine about and use as a wedge to raise political contributions. That's all. The oil companies don't even want it. For America? It's a huge pointless boondoggle (like everything else touched by George Bush, John McCain and friends).
The BIGGEST SCAM SINCE IRAQ.
I was going to vote for McCain but I won't now. He is going to be just more of the same old stuff. The stuff that has put us in the mess we are in now with the cost of energy. We need new ideas not drilling for oil off our coasts lines! I thought he was for alternative energy solutions. Drilling won't solve our problems, it will cause more and just make things worse.
I was going to vote for McCain but I won't now. He is going to be just more of the same old stuff. The stuff that has put us in the mess we are in now with the cost of energy. We need new ideas not drilling for oil off our coasts lines! I thought he was for alternative energy solutions. Drilling won't solve our problems, it will cause more and just make things worse.
Lorraine from - Auke Bay Alaska.
I was going to vote for McCain but I won't now. He is going to be just more of the same old stuff. The stuff that has put us in the mess we are in now with the cost of energy. We need new ideas not drilling for oil off our coasts lines! I thought he was for alternative energy solutions. Drilling won't solve our problems, it will cause more and just make things worse.
Lorraine from - Auke Bay Alaska.
I was going to vote for McCain but I won't now. He is going to be just more of the same old stuff. The stuff that has put us in the mess we are in now with the cost of energy. We need new ideas not drilling for oil off our coasts lines! I thought he was for alternative energy solutions. Drilling won't solve our problems, it will cause more and just make things worse.
Lorraine from - Auke Bay Alaska.
Ethan, you are completely missing the point here. We produce the same amount of oil domestically as we did in 1948. Meanwhile, demand has risen almost every year since. If you think that that has nothing to do with the high price of gas then you really need to get a clue.
And yes, ANWR is definitely a scam. Blocking 20 billion barrels of oil for a couple caribou is probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. ANWR is a desolate tundra 19.6 million acres in size and the oil industry would only need 2,000 acres to get the oil. That is also ridiculous.
And Chris, the outer continental shelf has an estimated 86 billion barrels of oil. That would certainly get us by until we developed a reliable alternative.
But keep blaming those evil oil companies, OPEC and George Bush and see how much that lowers gas prices.
>>>Ethan, you are completely missing the point here.
In other words you have no way to respond to my point. ANWR is a big zero and all you want to do is promulgate the REPUBLICAN TALKING POINTS.
The conversation (just like drilling in ANWR) is MEANINGLESS unless you bring in hefty conservation measures and alternatives.
ANYONE who is not a shill for the Neoconservatives or the oil multinationals can see that.
Which makes you... A SHILL! Congrats Dan. Just another mindless automaton regurgitating GOP/Oil BS.
America is done with non-arguments from the likes of you. We are moving on to a sustainable future with or without you.
>>>America is done with non-arguments from the likes of you. We are moving on to a sustainable future with or without you.
Is that so? Here are the results from a recent Rasmussen poll:
67% Support Offshore Drilling, 64% Expect it Will Lower Prices
18% disagree
15% are undecided
>>>It's MEANINGLESS unless you bring in hefty conservation measures and alternatives.
I agree... WE ARE.
A shill? Me? No. I can't stand McCain but it's pretty clear you're an Obama supporter since you can't site one legitimate reason for not becoming oil independent. You speak in meaningless platitudes just as he does.
And yes, of course, we desperately need an alternative to oil but in the meantime we still need it to fuel our cars and airplanes. Why should we continue to import foreign oil when we can drill for it here... and create some jobs at the same time?
Trust me Ethan, this is non-issue for you and your 18% minority. Face it.
>>>since you can't site one legitimate reason for not becoming oil independent
Haha. That's rich. I am a sustainability consultant. I've been screaming to fools like you about this issue since before Enron. And you accuse me of platitudes. Hilarious. I simply don't have enough time in the day to school you on facts that you clearly could care less about.
Everybody who has even the slightest inkling of this idea knows that allowing the multinationals to drill off of our coasts will do absolutely nothing for the price of gas, absolutely nothing for a long term solution to the end of cheap oil.
You know as everyone knows that the oil companies will sell it to China and India for huge profits.
Global production is topped off and so speculation will continue and the price of oil will stay high for perpetuity.
But nevermind those facts. And nevermind alternatives. And nevermind conservation. And nevermind green building and other sustainability topics.
Your shill proven liar President and your shill proven liar candidate and your shill proven liars Congressmen say "DRILL DRILL DRILL, DRILL DRILL DRILL, oh and did I mention DRILL DRILL DRILL..." and you fall right into line.
Heckuva job Dan.