Posted on 06/10/2008 6:34:30 AM PDT by Obadiah
The recent spike in oil prices and unemployment is dramatically changing this presidential campaign -- virtually overnight. The near $20 jump in oil to $140 a barrel, the unexpected half-point increase in the jobless rate to 5.5 percent (the biggest monthly increase in twenty years), and the resulting 400-point plunge in stocks has created a new campaign issue right before our eyes.
Public worry number one is now oil, jobs, and the economy, with the inflationary woes of the U.S. dollar right underneath. The candidate who can connect with these issues will win in November. But so far neither Obama nor McCain are dealing with the new political reality.
In fact, it's all about oil right now. The price has doubled over the past year while the economy has slumped.
But here's an eye opener. Recent polling data from Gallup show the percentage of voters blaming oil companies for skyrocketing gasoline prices has dropped from 34 percent to 20 percent over the past year. At the same time, support for more drilling in U.S. coastal and wilderness areas has increased to 57 percent from 41 percent.
And the candidates remain blind to these shifts.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
Meanwhile, our candidate Mr. “I don’t know nutting ‘bout no economy”, still fervently clings to the myth of global warming, and refuses to engage in the conversation to open up ALL domestic energy resources — including drilling, and CTL.
Hmmm, to which of the two doofuses are you referring?
RUSH NEEDS TO DECLARE AN NATIONAL “LET’S DRILL TODAY” DAY.
I’D BUY BUMPER STICKERS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY AND A T-SHIRT TOO.
“Hmmm, to which of the two doofuses are you referring?”
LOL ... an excellent point. Thanks for clearing it up. I get them confused on most issues.
You know you just have to vote for McCain, no matter how leftist he is, because Obama will come into your house late at night and carry off your children.....
It's a sad day when it's so hard to tell....
The lease should be expressed in terms of $$ per barrels and the revenues to go to the general fund. In effect, the government becomes the land owner and receives revenues just like any other land owner who allows a company to drill on their land.
“RUSH NEEDS TO DECLARE AN NATIONAL “LET’S DRILL TODAY” DAY.”
Why wait for Rush? Hell, it’s a good idea so let it rip.
Just a thought. This smacks of manipulation and misdirection. The electorate gets pummeled by higher fuel prices and the WOT begins to take on a lower priority.
Drill, heck yes! Refine, heck yes! New nuCLEAR power production...oh heck yes!!!
30 years the eco dimwit left has been working on this. They might succeed if the obamanation (sp?) is elected. How does the American soviet socialist republic sound.
Not wearing the tin foil beanie either.
Wait until $5 or $6 gas leading into the election...
“You know you just have to vote for McCain, no matter how leftist he is, because Obama will come into your house late at night and carry off your children.....”
Michelle might ... I can’t see the messiah being all that qualified. LOL
The very word DRILL brings fear to the Saudi’s and they will play us as usual. Lowering the cost till the DRILL demands cease and we’re back to living in denial.
It wasn’t Rush who came up with Sore/Loserman and we don’t need to wait for him to get those DRILL NOW bumper stickers.
DRILL NOW!
The idiots in Washington will ignore us, as they always do. Until we have a Second Revolution!
I sent email to my house and senate reps yesterday. Suggest all do the same.
I’ve been quietly suggesting a pitchfork and torch party on the capitol steps...
No, but Obama will take our guns, our freedoms, and kiss Iran’s ass to our detriment - so yes, I will vote for McCain thankyouverymuch.
I would also donate money for billboards and we need to organize behind Newt’s petition drive. This is Bullshit that the demorats are not listening to Americans. Talk radio is fired up locally in Kansas City. Let’s get the work out.
If he came to my house he would not be leaving in a upright position.
DRILL Now, but CAP and hold the pumps until we can see the whites of the dead Saudi-Islamofascist cash-cow’s eyes bulging from their dry sockets.
Kill the Islamofascist Cash-Cow. Burn it!
I just went to the McCain site and looked at his list of issues - in-fk*ng-credibly, energy is not one. I guess if you’re a millionaire with an even richer wife, it is not much of an issue. Every self-respecting freeper should go to his site and send him a comment - to drill now, to drill here. That arrogant ass needs to ‘get the message’.
Senate Dems are trying to pass windfall profit taxes today. That should help.
I don’t think the shift in sentiment has reached Washington yet.
So what guarantee is there the Wall Street parasite traders won’t bid up oil pumped from American wells?
American Oil should cost less, right?
Oh and, note to BP: GTHOOMC - ‘cause WE didn’t vote for your Monarchy.
The Bakken fields is shale oil, IIRC and not easily extracted.
What worries me more than the two doofuses, are the 535 doofuses (broad brush I know) some of whom try but are thwarted by many others just unwilling to lead, in the development of US energy. Spelled OIL.
That’s the problem with the elites. Hell do you think any of them have actually reached into their own pocket for a tankfel of gas recently. They send their staff who put it on a credit card and we pay for it. their personal vehicles I assume are filled by their drivers and the bill is paid for by an accountant. THEY HAVE NO CLUE!!!
American Oil costs the same as foreign oil. Oil is a commodity, with the price set on the world market. It’s supply and demand. Right now, demand exceeds supply, so the price goes up. If we start drilling, the supply increases, meeting if not exceeding demand, so the price comes down.
But more importantly, we need to continue working towards alternative fuel sources which will drop our demand even further. And with our increased domestic supply, we can eventually beat our dependence on foreign oil.
It is expensive to extract oil from shale. But at the current market price of oil, it is cost effective to do it.
Increases in American supply will have a disproportionate effect on downward pressure on price for several reasons not he least of which is the stability of America. Speculators will not be so able to cry "revolution" and drive prices unnaturally high.
Congress has a stupid quotient approaching infinity.
Not even Coast is so tinfoil oriented, but FR is.
But the problem with that is if the price of oil goes down, then you have sunk a huge amount of money into a business that will lose money on every barrel of oil extracted. I believe that coal to fuel conversion is far cheaper than sale oil extraction. It is better to go after the easily extracted oil first.
I wish we already had the money so that I could enjoy the Aspen Father's Day Ski Weekend.
No, it doesn't. However, they are holding their emergency conference so as to make clear that if anything can bring a more rational pricing it will be done if possible.
We can get on Newt Gingrich’s band wagon -
“Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less”
Well, vote for Obama and you might get your wish.
“You know you just have to vote for McCain, no matter how leftist he is, because Obama will come into your house late at night and carry off your children.....”
Yes, I do have to vote for McCain. I have considered the options.
I’ll guard the kiddies at night.s/
Why has he never done that?
P.S. Is it possible that he can declare a national emergency and issue a Presidential Directive--or issue an EXECTIVE ORDER--to allow drilling in ANWR?? (Heck, his popularity can't drop much lower anyway)
True. I don’t know the production costs per barrel of shale oil, which will indicate the minimum market price oil needs to be at to remain profitable. So that is something the companies wishing to tap the shale need to know and account for.
But by no means do I advocate only drilling, or only shale oil. Coal to oil should be done too. Do it all! AND work on the alternative fuel sources. Increasing our oil supply alone is not a long term solution. We must also drastically cut our demand by bringing more alternative sources online. Build more nuclear. Build more clean coal plants. Build wind farms. Build solar farms. Increase the number of hybrid models. Build the infrastructure for hydrogen and get the hydrogen fuel cell cars on the market. And keep improving all those technologies to be even more efficient and cost effective.
Do it all. And as our demand decreases and our supply increases, we will eventually hit the balance where we can supply our own needs, and even further past that, as demand falls even more, we can scale back our supply to maintain a domestic reserve.
Great question! Why President Bush doesn't do this is a complete mystery. He could easily retake the policy initiative, but sadly, this lack of directly communicating with the American public has been the stark hallmark of this Administration. The Bush Administration, for whatever unfathomable reason, has left this huge leadership void by failing to communicate that the Democrats and the MSM have been all to happy to fill - at the expense of the GOP and conservative ideas.
Hey, I'm all in favor of that. Just not sure it works like that.
Actually, the Bakken formation is light sweet crude which needs very little refining. However, the deposit is trapped in a 22 foot thick layer of rock that is difficult to extract oil from.
The questions are how much oil is there and how much can be recovered.
I’ve seen numbers that range from 10 billion barrels to the other side of a 100 billion barrels.
And the candidates remain blind to these shifts.
Maybe we need get rid of the current candidates.
Demand certainly does not exceed supply. Their is no shortage and anyone wanting oil is getting as much as they want. Saudi Arabia has cut production twice in the last year because of reduction in demand from their customers. Huge new oil deposits have been discovered just in the last year.
The "supply and demand" explanation just doesn't cut it.
>>Just not sure it works like that.
Of course it doesn’t work like that. As it stands right now, Oil pumped from American wells will be priced by commodity traders in Dubai and the City of London, among other places.
You think they have the best interest of Americans in mind?
I think we need a Texas-Tea party.
Hey BP: GTHOOMC!, ‘cause WE didn’t vote for your Monarchies.
* Cease all ethanol production. It takes away from food production and the unintended consequence is higher food costs. As diesel prices go up, the cost of farming tips the balance of cost to make ethanol a bad idea. Just say "no" to ethanol! Even Jimmy Carter says that diverting farm production from food to fuel is dumb – even HE gets it. This will create only ONE "blend" of gasoline and will cease regional "boutique" blends (gasohols) which are stupid, costly, and meaningless. Trucking custom blends around the country is wasteful. Ethanol blends get fewer miles to the gallon, and adds to the cost of production and transportation. Newer cars do not need oxygenated fuels.
* Lift the restrictions in order to drill for oil in Alaska, Gulf of Mexico, and other sites in the CONUS as a matter of national security.
* Encourage the petro industry to construct state-of-the-art refineries and/or retrofit current and dormant ones and crank up production for our newly-accessed oil in the CONUS.
* Make all “carbon credit” scams unlawful. Discrediting Algore should have been a slam-dunk a long time ago. Stop electing Reps who buy into the Global Warming / Global Cooling / Climate Change Hoax. CO2 is not our enemy!
* Construct SEVERAL, regional Pebble-Bed Modular Reactors (or other similar modern designs) that are not considered "breeders", are rechargeable, and cleaner than any current nuclear generator design. Breeders are OK, but PBMR's are better. Refine spent nuke fuel for recycling. DO SOMETHING NUCLEAR to resolve energy problems.
* Use the residual heat from the reactors above to process motor fuel from coal and/or shale. Even though Clinton "stole" some of the best coal reserves, we still have a lot to use.
* Become independent enough to make the cartels (i.e. OPEC) inconsequential.
* Convince local taxing bodies to lift or cap the sales tax on gasoline so that as gas prices go up, the local tax collectors don’t see a windfall revenue jump at the expense of the consumer. The Federal government could compel the states (and locals) to cap the fuel taxes.
If you squint real hard, and read between the lines, the ‘manifesto’ will require the dismissal of all RINOs and LibDems and the election of some clear-minded conservatives to even consider any of the above.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.