Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Obama flips . . . but not far enough

When running for president in 2008, Barack Obama, campaigning in Jacksonville, promised to "keep in place the moratorium here in Florida and around the country that prevents oil companies from drilling off Florida's coasts."  (Link here.)

Today, Obama pulled a John Kerry and flip-flopped on that position and lifted the moratorium on such drilling "along the southern Atlantic coastline [which includes Florida, last time I checked], the eastern Gulf of Mexico [ditto] and part of Alaska."  (Link here.)

Kudos to President Obama for that decision . . . BUT . . . as House Republican Leader John Boehner points out, Obama has NOT lifted the ban on drilling off the Pacific Coast, the majority of Alaska's shoreline, "as well as the most promising resources off the Gulf of Mexico."  (Link here.)

This is a good first step - an encouraging one even - but in an age of energy dependence on foreign nations . . . America needs to stop dabbling in reality and confront it.  Develop ALL available resources.

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