McCain plays with fire on offshore drilling
By CHARLES MAHTESIAN & DAVID MARK | 6/17/08 6:49 PM EST
By calling for an end to the federal ban on offshore oil drilling, John McCain is placing a risky bet. He is wagering that skyrocketing gas prices have finally reached a tipping point, a threshold moment that has led voters to rethink their strong and long-held opinions against coastal oil exploration.
The stakes couldn’t be higher: If he is wrong, McCain will have seriously damaged his chances in two key states with thousands of miles of coastline — California and Florida — and where opposition to offshore oil drilling has been unwavering. And he will have undermined some of his closest political allies in those states and others, including potential fall battlegrounds such as Virginia and North Carolina.
“Before $4.25-per-gallon gas, this would have been like pulling a pin on a grenade and rolling it into the state,” said David Johnson, the former executive director of the Florida Republican Party. “It would have been a fool’s errand to recommend it.
It was never, ever a thing that a smart politician would have done in Florida.”
In California, the drilling issue is just as volatile, said Sal Russo, a veteran Sacramento, Calif.-based Republican consultant.
“California got really sensitive about these issues since the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill. And I don’t think it’s changed much since then,” he said. “There are strong feelings on the issue.”
Indeed, an overwhelming 64 percent of Californians opposed opening up more of the state’s coast to oil drilling, according to a February 2006 survey by the Public Policy Institute of California. That figure was up 14 percentage points from 2004.
“Overall, the state has been clearly on record, from the governor on down, as strongly opposing offshore drilling,” said Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), who represents a Santa Barbara-based coastal district that is home to some of the state’s most vocal drilling resistance.
But that was before the latest gas price spike in two states heavily dependent on automobiles.
State Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, a Northern California Republican who favors offshore drilling, acknowledged drilling would be a heavy political lift but said rising prices may be a mitigating factor.
“Traditionally in California, it’s very difficult to move anything that even hints of being an environmentally sensitive issue. ... But people are sick and tired of creeping up to $5 gas. Will $5 a gallon be enough? $6? $7?” he said. "If [McCain] can articulate that we can safely and responsibly do this kind of exploration off shore, and that will lower gas prices and help national security, reasonable people would buy that notion.”
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McCain plays with fire on offshore drilling - Charles Mahtesian and David Mark - Politico.com
While I support offshore drilling there are political risks involved with promoting it.Both candidates need Green Independents to win and this could remove some advantages McCain may have had with the Electoral College.That would make the race even more interesting!
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06-18-2008, 05:47 PM
McCain plays with fire on offshore drilling
I read this the other day and posted the link (to world reserves) on here in another thread, but I remember there are around 60 billion barrels of oil to something like 270 units (not sure the measurement they used) of natural gas in the United States.
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