by Mark Silva
With President Bush traveling to Florida today to raise money for Cuban American congressmen in South Florida (see the Swamp below), the Bush family is getting its off-shore oil-drilling rigs in a row.
The president called on Congress this week to lift a longstanding moratorium on oil drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf, in a bid to eventually ease pressure on gas prices - though the administration's own Energy Department has reported that new drilling probably couldn't get underway before 2017 and even by 2030 the potential product of this drilling stands to have little impact on the world supply or price of oil.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, like most politicians in Florida, has long opposed off-shore drilling. But this week, Florida's Republican governor, Charlie Crist, joined the party's presumptive presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, in voicing support for new drilling - the day before the president made a public show of the issue in the Rose Garden.
Now Jeb Bush is falling into line. The former governor, hosting a two-day summit on education reform near Orlando that today will draw New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to the podium, spoke about the issue with reporters Thursday. The L.A. Times' Peter Wallsten, a veteran of Florida political reporting, was on the phone. The Times' Top of the Ticket reports the former governor's comments:
"You can protect the natural resources and the coastline of the state and also be part of national effort to deal with a national security crisis that our country faces right now," Jeb Bush said. "It's a huge economic problem for a lot of Americans, which is four-plus dollars a gallon gasoline. It's a burden that was never anticipated when we were discussing drilling policy 20 years ago, 10 years ago, five years ago, two years ago.
"So I think you've got to give people in public life a little bit of room when the context changes for them to also adjust their views."
No word from Dad yet: The former president Bush imposed an executive ban on offshore drilling in 1991. His son has said he is willing to lift that prohibtion, if Congress will lift its own moratorium enacted in 1981.
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Comments
From all of Mark Silva's articles on off-shore oil drilling it seems quite clear that he is completely in favor of high gas prices and doesn't understand that countries like Denmark, Norway, Mexico, Holland, and others drill off shore with nary an environmental problem.
The Left, and the media apparently, want high gas prices,.They want them to go even higher because we will then use less fossil fuels, which they see as a cure for global warming. Course, if the American people and economy are destroyed in the process, that is collateral damage the Left and the mainstream media can live with.
Posted by: Green Trees | June 20, 2008 10:07 AM
So, I guess, we now know the next major scheme and screw-up the dynasty will be engaged in, more destruction of our environment and coastline !! True to form, their oily hands are in the Oil Corps, oily pockets. Let us see if they can do a better job of raking in the Oil bucks then they did in raking in the S&L scandal bucks. They will probably botch this scheme, too!!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, Chicago | June 20, 2008 10:10 AM
FLIP FLOPPER!!!!!
Posted by: Paul | June 20, 2008 10:22 AM
The U.S. can send oil prices plummeting today with two simple moves.
1. Release 50% of the strategic reserves into the open market thus flooding the market with supply.
2. Approve drilling off the coasts and in anwar.
Don't listen to the nonsense these liberals puke up about there being no short term solution. Flooding the market with supply guarantees a drop in price.
The irony of this whole thing is that those people most likely to be effected by high gas prices are the same sheep that will flock to Obama and Co. with the misguided idea that he and his liberal propogandizers' will fix the problem. It's too bad you won't discover the sheer power of the environmental lobby until you're paying $10/gallon or riding your bike 20 miles to and from work.
Posted by: RCK | June 20, 2008 10:45 AM
RCK-
First off, it is ANWR (no A).
Secondly, releasing half of the oil reserves would cause a Very short term drop in prices. Further, off shore drilling and ANWR combined would only amount to 5-8% of this country's consumption for just 12 years.
RCK, you can be a right-wing nut job if you'd like-I doesn't matter to me, but atleast be an educated right-wing nut job.
Posted by: jim | June 20, 2008 11:44 AM
The boys are just lining up their next jobs.
Posted by: lochnessmonster | June 20, 2008 12:26 PM
Jim, you're a moron. Don't tell me how the markets work. I'm one of the speculators you liberals like to complain about. I'll go short when supply increases. Until then, I'll keep lining my pockets. Now get back to work; breaktime is over.
BTW, I'm up big again today. Hope you don't have to fill up anytime soon.
Posted by: rck | June 20, 2008 12:29 PM
greeen trees, how many times are going to continue the same lie?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7140645.stm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6861084/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2491317.stm
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,311178,00.html
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002857354_webprudhoe10.html
http://blog.skytruth.org/2007/12/hurricane-katrina-gulf-of-mexico-oil.html
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Oil_spill_reported_in_Gulf_of_Mexico
Posted by: crud | June 20, 2008 1:01 PM
"You’ve got to give people in public life a little bit of room when the context changes for them to also adjust their views.'' -- Jeb Bush
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When it was Kerry, it was not good, but now that it's a rethuglican, it's ok? More hypocrisy from the best hypocrites the universe has ever known.
Posted by: tried and true American | June 20, 2008 9:10 PM
I hear Barack plays a bit of poker.
It will be interesting to watch the speculators knock themselves out trying to figure if & when he will release that strategic oil reserve.
B, why not try faking them out? Just announce it and then do a Lucy with the football, and watch them sell out in anticipation.
Posted by: ornery | June 21, 2008 1:21 AM