By Harris Sherline
The BP oil drilling catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico is the fault of America’s anti-drilling crowd, including president Obama, who have blocked drilling for oil in safer locales, most of which have been put off limits by their efforts to force us to develop alternative sources of energy.
Obama has seized on the situation as just another opportunity to push his “Cap and Trade” proposal. With Obama, it’s always about politics and the “change” he promised to bring to America, most of which the American public has rejected.
After essentially ignoring the oil spill for 57 days, Obama finally took to the air waves on June 15. Speaking to the nation from the Oval Office, he attempted to assure us that he had the situation under control and that he is in charge. In his effort to convince the public that he is actively dealing with the problem, Obama made his now infamous comment on the NBC Today Show, saying: “I don’t sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick.”
What a classy guy our president is. I don’t know about anyone else, but I was personally offended by his remark. Not because I don’t fault British Petroleum for this disaster, but because I just don’t think our political leaders should make public statements about major issues using street language. I believe it demeans both the office and the individual. The president of the United States is not and should not try to be just one of the guys.
But, talking tough or pushing BP into creating a $20 billion slush fund, presumably to cover the cost of cleaning up the oil mess, does not solve the long-term problem of risk in deepwater drilling. Obama responded by simply declaring a moratorium on all such drilling, at least for now, as if that will accomplish anything except to make us more dependent on other countries, where many people hate us.
It will also drive up the cost of oil, gasoline and many other oil based products. Some sources are predicting that the price of gasoline could go as high as $7.00 a gallon. The impact of an increase of this magnitude will affect everything from food to power, manufacturing and transportation, all of which will force most people to reorder their budgets for such basics as food, heating and air conditioning, their personal use of power, driving to and from work, trucking, just about anything and everything Americans use and do. This in turn will make the U.S. less competitive in world markets and induce many businesses to relocate operations overseas, which will cost jobs in the U.S.
Almost every nation throughout the world will continue drilling for oil, such as (in no particular order): 17 nations in Africa; Australia; New Zealand; 15 nations in Europe (including the UK, Norway, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Russia); the Middle East (Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen); 31 of the 50 U.S. states; Canada and Mexico; 15 South American countries, including Brazil (which the U.S. recently helped finance).
You can be sure none of these countries will stop offshore or deepwater drilling simply because the U.S. has shut down any or all of its own drilling activity. Furthermore, none of them regulate oil drilling nearly as strictly as the U.S. So, what we will get for this trade-off will be far more pollution in other parts of the world, much of which will drift to other areas, to say nothing of the loss of some $6 billion in annual revenue to the U.S. Treasury from oil drilling royalties that are currently being paid by the oil companies.
Obama can talk as tough as he wants, threaten or cajole BP and the other oil companies, but his statements are more about PR than accomplishing anything, other than using the situation as another opportunity to push for something he wants, which in this case is to have Congress pass his Cap and Trade bill. Once again, Obama followed the admonition of his chief-of-staff, Rham Emanuel, that “a crisis is a terrible thing to waste.”
Never mind that Americans overwhelmingly oppose this legislation, Obama pressed on, suggesting that passage of Cap and Trade would take us to “a new future that will benefit us all.”
Obama wants Americans to end their “addiction” to oil, and offers to replace it with wind and solar power, along with other embryonic technologies, none of which are anywhere close to being developed to the point where they are not only practical but economically feasible, including automobiles that will run on electricity.
For Obama, the blowout is about more than oil, it’s about his ability to lead. And, once again he has chosen to play politics rather than lead.
© 2010 Harris R. Sherline, All Rights Reserved
Read more of Harris Sherline’s commentaries on his blog at www.opinionfest.com