Obama Administration Flip-Flops on Drilling

Is it my imagination or did the Obama Administration just flip-flop on domestic drilling for fossil fuels?

I think it's a good thing, but it seems that President Obama, in an effort to salvage another term as our President, is changing his tune on drilling. What do you make of this? Isn't it odd that there is no discussion about this new policy approach in this forum and little mention of it in the media? How can that be?

Obama Says He Will Seek to Lift U.S. Oil Output

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... lenews_wsj

WASHINGTON—The Obama administration, on the defensive amid higher gasoline prices, on Saturday said it will pursue policies that could boost domestic oil production.

President Obama, in his weekly radio address, said his administration would expand drilling opportunities in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve, speed up continuing evaluation of oil resources in the Atlantic and provide incentives to oil companies to develop energy on the leases they currently own.

Calling the spate of initiatives "not terribly substantial," Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) said "this reversal is striking since his administration has consistently blocked American-made energy."

The administration will also expedite an environmental review of seismic studies that determine how much oil and gas is below the ocean floor in the mid and south Atlantic. If the regions hold promise, they could be added to a lease plan for 2012 to 2017.

Help me out, am I missing something here?

Since when is authorizing something after studies have been completed that will ensure safer drilling practices "flip-flopping"? (I guess since conservatives found the need to use "flip-flopping" in a sentence.)

LadyJazzer wrote: Since when is authorizing something after studies have been completed that will ensure safer drilling practices "flip-flopping"? (I guess since conservatives found the need to use "flip-flopping" in a sentence.)

So can you answer me straight-faced that you don't believe the Adminstration is feeling any pressure about the rising cost of energy and that pressure is "helping" them authorize drilling more rapidly?

You honestly believe that after months of impeding domestic drilling, he Administration suddenly found the time to make it happen?

Watch what he does, not what he says.

I realize I'm not the sharpest computer wizard up in these mountains (hills) but I had a hard time finding much reference to this on line. I saw a mention of it on AOL yesterday but didn't have much time to comment on it. This morning I went looking for it and found very little.

Could it be that me "unbiased media" is supressing this?

I seem to recall a certain President Bush changing his position on new taxes and being absolutely crucified by the media. Could there be a different standard here?

I saw alot of related news articles in google news headlines. Good for Obama, drill baby drill. Glad he has come around, but clearly its due to polling data about consumers being unhappy about high gas prices. His advisors must be telling him to act on oil prices or he won't be re-elected.

http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&c ... 5aq6yhhoPM

Liberals love the idea of forcing people to convert to the magical clean technology that will save the world. The problem with that utopian thinking is that they don't realize the cost. They hope that rising prices will get everyone who owns an suv to just get rid of it and buy a Prius. Problem is, the majority of Americans can't afford to convert, and even if they can afford it, many don't want to compromise their families safety by jamming them into a tiny tin can. They also seem to forget that almost everything around us is made from oil and transported by oil energy.

The problem is that they are trying to force us during a time when we will barely be able to recover even with cheap energy. So the reality is, Obama and the Democrats know what will happen to their election chances if more and more people go bankrupt because they can't afford to drive to work, buy food, and heat their homes.

So what do they really care about the most, sticking to their misguided utupian ideas, or getting re-elected? They were barely able to jam a clusterf@#k health care bill down our throats, unaffordable energy will never fly.

LadyJazzer wrote: Since when is authorizing something after studies have been completed that will ensure safer drilling practices "flip-flopping"? (I guess since conservatives found the need to use "flip-flopping" in a sentence.)

Now that is a joke. What studies have been concluded that result in safer drilling practices? Let's be specific about the new practices that have been regulated by the current administration. The moratorium slapped on Gulf Drilling was simply a knee jerk reaction and the same can be said now about speeding oil exploration and production up. The one thing I've learned in life is that speeding up and safety go in opposing directions. It amy be hard to accept the reality but face it LJ, this is simply another knee jerk reaction, the kind of practice that characterizes everything this administration does since there is no grand plan or vision.

Rockdoc Franz wrote: It amy be hard to accept the reality but face it LJ, this is simply another knee jerk reaction,

Yes...It is... I'll be glad when you guys find something else to do.

LadyJazzer wrote:

Rockdoc Franz wrote: It amy be hard to accept the reality but face it LJ, this is simply another knee jerk reaction,

Yes...It is... I'll be glad when you guys find something else to do.

Let me repeat the question for you. What studies have been concluded that result in safer drilling practices?
You are the one who defended the administration's actions on the basis of instituting safer drilling practices. Or was that some BS pulled from dark places for a defense?